City Girls & Small Town Boys
by KnowMyNameNotMyStory
Summary: He taught her about the simplicity of life and she taught him that there might be something out there worth living for. Every story deserves a chance, especially a love story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I Do Not Own Austin & Ally**

* * *

**Prologue**

"You nervous?"

"Kind of."

"Don't be."

"How can I not? You think after everything I've been through I'd have overcome this self confidence thing, but every time I still feel the anxiety."

"You've done so many things, this should just be a walk in the park. Just be yourself."

"Okay… I guess."

*Clapping was heard from the other side of the curtain*

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"They called your name. You're up."

"Oh. Right. Thanks."

* * *

Ally Dawson. She was not your typical 'popular' girl. She was what they called a nice girl. In fact, Ally didn't start off as popular, nor did she ever believe she was popular at all. How, you ask, did she gain the title of 'popular' then? It happened at the end of her sophomore year of high school. It's crazy how one summer changed her, and even crazier how another summer changed her again- or rather brought her back.

Ally Dawson was never a household name. She was never on any school dance ballot for homecoming court. She was never picked first in gym class. She was never acknowledged in the hallways. She was another face in the bleachers. She was a crewmember in drama productions. She was a wasted space in the school yearbook. And yet, Ally didn't mind at all.

Since she was 7, Ally had two best friends, Trish and Dez. They weren't popular as well, though were pretty social enough to be known as regulars. Trish was in the debate team. Pick a fight with her and you'll be the one to say sorry first whether or not you were right. Dez was a tech genius. He spent most of his childhood days glued to his computer playing the latest video games so it wasn't a shocker that he was president of the A/V club since his sophomore year. And Ally? She was a wallflower. She hid behind her books, her journal and her insecurities. Ally had talent; she just never grew the confidence to show it to anyone but her circle of comfort. And what a tiny circle that was. Other than family, only Trish and Dez knew Ally wrote songs in her journal and had a lovely voice, though her passion was writing. She's read every romance novel known to man – adult, teen, fantasy, new age – you name it, she's read it. Trish claimed that Ally would write one hell of a love story if she ever considered writing a book. But Ally simply found comfort in her little drabbles, journal entries and songs, claiming a song is a story itself.

Fast forward to the end of their sophomore year. Trish participated in their school's drama production helping Dez's team out because the debate season ended early that year. Since Dez was in charge of the tech crew and Ally worked backstage in every show, she wanted to spend more time with her best friends. Trish was new to the whole drama/theater program, keep in mind, so to spare a tragic story, she accidentally sent the lead female of the play to the hospital on show night for their final production that year. In desperation and panic, the teacher begged for help. Trish, knowing Ally's OCD/geeky nature, suggested for Ally to stand in claiming Ally would memorize everyone's roles for 'fun'. Without thinking twice, the drama teacher pushed Ally to the dressing room to get her ready to play Jasmine in their school's production of Aladdin. Ally was beyond terrified, but Trish and Dez calmed her down as much as they could. She had to conquer her fears sooner or later if she wanted her voice to be heard one day.

"You nervous?" Trish asked.

"Kind of."

"Don't be," Dez said.

"Yeah, Als. Just look up at us in the lighting and sound booth. We'll be cheering you on."

"Pretend like we're in your room. Just the three of us. Sing to us. And you'll be fine," he friends reassured her.

"Ok…"

"Ally?" Trish said.

"Yeah?"

"They called your name. You're up!"

Surely it was thanks to Trish and Dez that Ally's life changed that night. To say she did well was an understatement. No, Ally Dawson stole the show. Trish and Dez knew she'd kill it, belting out the songs to absolute perfection, but the audience was not prepared for Ally to be a _somebody_. And that night, her name was engraved in everyone's minds.

The following Monday, the last week before summer break, a mob of people praised her performance. She was asked to sit with a large crowd at lunch, and every inch of the hallway was bombarded with people who wanted to steal a quick hello from her as she crossed paths with them. Trish and Dez were with her the whole time, up until seventh period, fifteen minutes before summer freedom. They had study hall together, along with some popular kids. One in particular was Ethan Stern. He was the captain of the baseball and rugby team. He was in a band with his friends Trent and Jackson. He was popular. He played Aladdin in the school production because of two reasons; he and his friends were on Academic Probation unless their grades went up and extra curricular activities were the fastest ways to earn credit. The second reason was that Ethan was an exceptional singer so he earned the lead role.

Ethan and his crew walked up to Ally, practically shooing everyone away so he could talk to her.

"Hey Ally," he said coolly.

"H-hey Ethan," she stuttered. No one could deny that Ethan was in fact good looking, but he was definitely not a gentleman so to speak.

"I had fun with you last Friday. Between you and me, you were a much better Jasmine than Tilly would have been."

"Uh, thanks I guess."

"So listen," he got straight to his point. Ethan wasted no time with anything. "After school my friends and I are having a bonfire at the beach. You should come. We could hangout and stuff."

"Well…"

Ethan was not going to leave without a yes from her. So he gave her an offer. "You could bring your friends too. Trish and Dez."

Ally was a bit hesitant, but knowing that Trish and Dez would be around, she figured it shouldn't be that bad. "Ok."

Before she could say anything else, Ethan interrupted her. "Great. See you tonight," he winked at her and walked off.

"What did Ethan want?" Trish asked Ally once the trio drove home in Ally's car after the final bell. Trish and Ally were sitting in the back while Dez sat in the passenger seat next to Ally's driver. Yes, you read it right, Ally's driver. Ally's father was a pretty rich man, giving Ally anything she wanted, but she never dared to take advantage of that right.

"He invited us to a bonfire tonight at the beach."

"Wow Ally, look at you making your way into the popular crowd!" Dez commented from the front seat.

"Me? Popular? Yeah right," Ally scoffed playfully.

"No, Dez is right. Ever since your performance, you've been the talk of the town. Now hot bod Ethan wants to see you at his bonfire. You know he doesn't talk to just _any_ girl unless he likes her. Girl, tonight if all goes well, Ethan Stern will be your boyfriend!"

And all went well… or maybe not. Ally did in fact share a first kiss with Ethan and became his girlfriend that night. She spent most of her summer hanging out with his friends, slowly having less time with Trish and Dez – not to her liking though. Without knowing, Ethan was changing Ally; the way she looked, who she hung out with, and what her priorities were. She became… _popular_. Trish and Dez saw that. But they didn't complain. They knew Ally deserved for once in her life to be noticed, and they wouldn't ruin this 'phase' of hers for a chance to be in the spotlight.

Little did they know Ally would be with Ethan for the remainder of her high school days, eventually leaving behind Trish, Dez, and her shy life. Ally Dawson became a household name. She became a contender for homecoming and prom queen, she was greeted by everyone in the hallways (sometimes by new students who didn't even know who she was), she was a cheerleader at basketball games for Ethan, and she was female lead for the rest of the spring productions at school. She was the golden girl.

Ally was happy to finally be noticed. But that didn't mean she forgot about everything. Sure she was popular, and her friends weren't the nicest people around, but Ally was never a bully. The only thing really different about Ally was her wardrobe and confidence. She was a bit high maintenance but she was pretty secure with the way she presented herself. She didn't dress like a baby prostitute, but her wardrobe was glamorous. After all, her dad was rich remember? It was a field day when Ethan and his friends learned of Ally's wealth. In short, they took advantage of that and Ally basically 'bought' her way into popular without even knowing she was being taken advantage of. Ethan would have Ally buy things for him and if he wanted her to dress or have certain things, she would buy them to please him.

But old Ally was still there. At least, when no one was watching. When she was alone at home she never knocked the habit of writing in her journal. She kept a few of her 'dorky' clothes as Trish would call it and wore them at home. Speaking of her friends, Ally never talked to them in the hallway, but she would steal a few glances from time to time, exchanging subtle nods and faint smiles. Ally wanted so desperately to talk to them, but seeing as the two moved on and she had Ethan, Ally didn't want to risk being a nobody again.

All was going well for Ally. There seemed to be nothing that could possibly mess things up. At least, that's what she thought.

* * *

It was June of Ally's senior year in high school. It was crazy how time flew by so quickly. Summer vacation was two weeks away, not to mention her high school graduation. Ally maintained her grade point average, though she was a tenth of a point short of valedictorian. So she settled for salutatorian, being the second highest person in her senior class. Ally was accepted to with a full scholarship to the University of Florida, a good 5 hours from her beloved Miami. It was what she wanted, knowing if she was far enough from her father that she could major in journalism instead of engineering or business, and she could be on her own, start fresh, and become somebody more than Ally Dawson, the popular girl.

Speaking of popular, Ally was still going strong with Ethan. Not to say that they didn't have any bumps in the road. They had plenty. Ethan would pick fights with her and it would almost always end up with him guilting her and Ally saying sorry. Their fights? Ally would be stealing the spotlight from him and he would claim to not be jealous (though really he was). But he treated her right and he was popular, so she couldn't complain.

Trish and Dez, they were still their wacky selves. Dez hadn't changed a bit, but he was indeed accepted to the University of Florida as well with a film scholarship. Trish got accepted to St Leo University, in the same city as U of F, so she'd be close to Dez. It was no coincidence that the three would move to the same area because when they were in middle school, they decided on their dream schools already. This just went to show that they were all still fighting for their dreams, despite that Ally was no longer in the group, or vice versa.

That Thursday was a big day for seniors. It was the day before they commenced their senior prank. Regardless of social status, every year ALL seniors would have a blast pulling their prank to the school. It was really the only time a class would defy the status quo and bond over a common interest. But of course, there had to be some hierarchy and the popular crowd usually picked the prank to pull. That year, they would fill the halls with dead trout and hang the principal's station wagon on the flagpole. Their principal, Mr. Tolken, had this motto, "Hooked on Education." He was a fisherman, if it wasn't obvious. And the seniors thought it would be a laugh to put dead fish everywhere and 'hook' the principal's car to a pole. This of course was the plan that Ethan and his not so smart friends thought of.

Ethan and his friends spent seventh period study hall to finalize their plans for that night. Ally knew when Ethan was in his 'mode' and not to bother him. This was an advantage to her. Sometimes everyone in the popular crowd would get sucked into this strange vortex of being in that zone, yet Ally never gave in to it. These times were rare, but when they happened, she was able to drift away from the crowd even for just twenty minutes to do whatever she wanted. That particular day, Ally knew she would have a good amount of time to herself since Ethan wanted to really finalize the prank. So she got lost in the fiction section of the library.

"Hm, what book should I read next?" She asked herself. Ally grabbed the latest Young Adult novel by one of her favorite author's and picked at the first chapter. Yeah. She's that fast in reading.

"This is really good," Ally said to herself. She made a note of the title to purchase the book during the weekend to read the rest of it. As she stood up to place the book back on the shelf, she was startled to see a face on the other side of the shelf as the person was pulling out the book directly behind the novel she pulled out, or was going to place back on the shelf.

"Ally?"

"Trish! You scared me for a second," Ally touched her hand to her chest.

Trish was in a mixture of shock and relief. That was the first time Ally had spoken to her since two summers back. And it didn't matter what Ally said, Trish was just overwhelmed that she was even talking to her.

"Hello? Trish? Are you ok?"

By this time, Ally had walked over to Trish's aisle.

"Oh sorry. I was just thinking about something," Trish said coolly. "So what brings you to the library?" she attempted to make a conversation with her, even though she didn't know if it would last at all.

"Well Ethan's talking about the senior prank to everyone and I've heard it a million times so I snuck off for a bit to find a good book to read.

Trish glanced at the novel that was still in Ally's hands. A young adult romance. "Of course you'd pick that book," Trish said. "It's her newest one, huh?"

"Sure is. And you know I'll be done with it by the end of the week," Ally smirked.

"Of course!" Trish giggled.

Ally missed her best friend's laugh. She missed her best friend in general.

"Ally? Babe, where'd you go?" a voice in the distance yelled, despite that it was the library.

"Boyfriend," Ally said to Trish, not knowing why.

But before Trish could say some form of goodbye, Ally awkwardly walked back to her crowd.

Trish was left at the same spot, and before she was about to take in the moment, her redheaded friend jumped in.

"Boo!" he jumped in front of her.

"Dez!" Trish smacked his arm. "You totally ruined my thoughts."

"Sorry?" he said not really meaning it. "So, Trish, who was that you were talking to?" he asked absentmindedly picking up a textbook pretending to flip through pages and read.

"Ally," she simply stated.

"Yeah right," he chuckled. "Seriously, who?"

"Ally Dawson," she said again.

This time Dez believed her. He believed her so much that he turned to face Trish and accidentally dropped the textbook on her feet.

"OWW! YOU DOOF!" Trish exclaimed a little too loudly.

Ally and a few people around, including the librarian, heard and turned their direction. Ally noticed Trish smacking the life out of Dez's right arm and him constantly apologizing and begging for her to stop. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the same goofiness between her two former friends.

"Losers," one of the girls in the group, Brooke, scoffed.

Ally immediately turned away from them and brought her attention back to Ethan and the others. She wouldn't admit this to anyone, but the two minutes she spent talking to Trish that day was the most alive she'd ever felt in years. It was a feeling she missed.

That night, all 300 students in the senior class met at the front of the school.

"Alright people," Ethan said through a blow horn. "My boys and I are going to take care of the principal's car. Just grab a bucket of fish and toss it anywhere on campus. Then come back here and we'll have that car 'hooked' to the flag pole!" Everyone cheered and started work on the 200 pounds of dead trout.

After about an hour, the entire school was covered in fish. Half the class went home, not caring for the car prank, and others went home because Ethan and his friends were taking too long with their part of the prank. About fifty students were left standing in front of the school, watching as Ethan's friends were having trouble hooking the car to the pole.

Ally watched as her boyfriend was going nuts that his plan was failing. Brooke and the other popular girls were sitting around yawning, wanting to go home already, but the boys insisted they all stayed until the prank was over. This was another moment where Ally was able to drift off for a second because it was dark and Ethan was too busy to notice what she was doing.

"Ethan, please be careful!" Ally said to him as he tried pulling on the rope to lift the car.

"I'm fine babe, we go this!" He grunted while he and four other guys continued to pull.

Ally rubbed her temples and took a few steps backwards next to a few people standing to the side.

"He's never going to get that car up in time," she told no one in particular.

"Tell me about it," a voice from behind said.

Ally whipped her head around and saw Dez eating a stick of jerky and Trish standing next to him.

"Oh hey guys," Ally said.

"Sup," Dez said, not as shocked as he was when Trish told him about her encounter with Ally earlier that day. He continued snacking on his food while facing Ally.

"Hey, Ally," Trish greeted.

A moment of silence passed through them. The only noise coming from the commotion of the prank attempting to be pulled.

"So…" Ally and Trish said in unison.

"Wow. You go two years without talking and 'so' is the only thing you two can muster? Psh, women. I'll never understand your 'language'," he air quoted.

"And that's why you don't have a girlfriend, freckles! Because you ruin moments and drop textbooks on their feet!" Trish once again smacked his shoulder.

"Ow! You know, you have increasingly abused me more today than you do in a normal week!" he protested.

"Well, Trish is right though," Ally giggled from the interaction.

"See! Thank you," Trish high fived her.

"Gosh, some things never change! Why haven't we found another guy to hangout with? That way I would never be out-voted all the time," Dez complained.

_Some things never change._

That phrase stuck. Things have changed. That was the problem.

"Yes! Victory!" came a voice over everyone. Ethan and his friends were finally able to pull the car up to the flag pole and have it stick out like it was being hooked. Only a single rope balanced the car and it was tied to a bike rack next to the pole.

"This is the best senior prank that Marino High School seniors have ever pulled. We will go down in history!" Ethan cheered along with the crowd. Things were getting a bit too loud and the ground was shaking due to the celebration that people were jumping for joy. In an instant, two things happened before anyone could really think.

First, the rope had loosened from the bike rack, moving the car a bit, now basically hanging with little support from the pole. Everyone gasped at the sight. But before anyone could do anything about it, the second thing happened. A police siren was heard from afar, getting louder by the second.

"Oh no, cops!" one of Ethan's friends, Trent, shouted.

Everyone started to make a run for it. Ethan grabbed a hold of Ally's hand and pulled her away from Trish, Dez and everyone else.

"Ethan!" she yelled.

"Babe, I don't want to get caught, come on!"

"But you can't just let principal Tolken's car fall!"

"Listen, Ally, I don't have time for your stupid thoughtfulness right now. We have to go!"

Lights were now in sight, and the sirens were getting louder. Ethan did not wait for Ally to decide and instead ran off with Trent, Brooke and everyone else. Ally honestly did not want the principal's car to be ruined, so she ran back to the flagpole. At this point, Dez and Trish were about to make the dash, but Dez caught sight of Ally running against the crowd back to the direction of the school.

"What is she doing?" Dez told Trish. They both saw as she ran towards the bike rack, desperately untying it as fast as she could to try to not break the car. Without thinking, Dez dragged Trish to the direction of the car and got there just in time before Ally almost lost grip of the rope. Non-verbal glances were exchanged and Ally was grateful that Trish and Dez came to help. The three of them used all their might to pull and hang on to that rope so the car would not fall. Ignoring everything around them, they managed to retie the rope to the pole, this time more securely, and panted, clearly out of breath. But before anything else, someone spoke up.

"Freeze!"

* * *

**A/N: Hey Auslly peeps, I'm back! I received an overwhelming number of reviews, PM's & favorites on _Takeoffs & Landings_ and I just want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for the love :) I didn't expect to get that kind of response for my first Auslly fic. That story was a favorite to write. I wrote it in 3 days lol It's my most popular fic so I made it a priority to finish this and publish as soon as I can. I wrote this about 2 months ago though I set it aside to write Takeoffs & Landings. But now I'm back and I couldn't wait to publish this one. I'm a busy person but this story is almost complete so updates may vary. Thanks again for the love!**

**Happy Independence Day! I'm proud to be an America and even more excited for the fireworks. Have fun and be safe if you're going out tonight :) And if you're in California and going to the hillside tonight I'll see you there. I'm the one wearing red, white and blue ;p**


	2. Chapter 2

"Minnesota?"

"Yup."

"That's like a million miles from here!"

"More like 1,889 miles. But you were close," Ally said sarcastically to Brooke. Brooke and anyone in the popular crowd never got her sarcastic side.

"But I thought Principal Tolken didn't expel you?" Trent said, fiddling with Ally's Rubik's cube on her desk. He gave up in frustration; couldn't even solve one row.

Ethan, Brooke, and Trent came over to Ally's house the night before graduation. Ally was forbidden to go out until that day because of what happened the night of the prank.

"Yeah, but that wasn't enough for my dad to punish me."

"Why Minnesota? It's like the middle of nowhere. Does your dad hate you that much?" Brooke scoffed.

"My dad doesn't hate me. He's just disappointed. And we have family in Minnesota. It's where I was born, remember?"

"You were born in Minnesota? I never knew that!" Brooke said.

"You know, you're the most awesome best friend a girl could have, Brookie," Ally sarcastically spat.

"Aww! Thanks, Ally!" Brooke took it as a 'compliment'.

"I told you to run with me, babe. You should have listened to me. You know I'm always right. You wouldn't have to be in this mess if you just listened," Ethan scolded her. It wasn't new to Ally, but she could never find the courage to correct him. Though she was working on it.

"His car was about to fall. We never intended for that part of the prank. It's the principle of things, Ethan," Ally defended.

"Well duh it's the principal. That was his car," Brooke commented. Ally inwardly groaned. How did she go two years being friends with such a ditz?

"_Principle_ or not, now you're in trouble. So don't be calling me crying your eyes out at night saying you're dying of boredom in Minnesota. I actually want to have fun this summer before college starts," Ethan demanded.

_Some boyfriend_, Ally thought to herself.

Minnesota was Ally's punishment from her father. He didn't feel like what Principal Tolken gave her was sufficient enough. Nor did Trish and Dez's parents.

* * *

**Flashback**

_After Ally, Trish, and Dez were put in a holding cell at the local station, their principal decided to take matters into his own hands before their parents ripped their heads off, so he picked up the three students and informed their parents to meet at the school shortly after. He told their parents of the events for the night. Visibly, each adult was furious yet embarrassed for his or her children. A police officer was in the office with them, explaining what they knew of the story. But knowing his students like the back of his hand, Principal Tolken knew it wasn't Ally, Trish or Dez's actual fault. When Ally finally defended their names, claiming that they were trying to keep his car from falling, he didn't think twice to believe them. He knew it was a senior prank as well so he took that into consideration. Now he didn't want to show biasness so he had to punish them somehow. Though what was a principal's action towards scholar students? He had no idea how to punish them._

_"Three days of school suspension. You can participate in only graduation, and the senior BBQ at the end of the summer."_

_Ally, Trish, and Dez breathed a sigh of relief._

_"But I'm not done yet," the principal stated. "I know you kids won't say any names, and I know your intentions were well for saving my car. But, just being a part of this prank got you into this mess. Now I've grown to know you three since the start of junior high (their principal was the principal of their middle school, and he got promoted to the high school the same year they started) and I know you are good kids, despite the social hierarchy of this school," he was mainly referring to Ally. "So, at the end of the summer, at the senior BBQ, I want you guys to share what you learned with everyone."_

_"What we learned about what?" Trish asked._

_"I'll leave that up to you," Principal Tolken said. "And I'll leave the way you present it to your liking as well. It can be written, recorded, spoken, I don't care. So long as you have something prepared. This may not sound like much, but I need people to be part of the program with the reflections part, and since I need a consequence, there you have it."_

_It didn't really seem like much of a 'punishment' so to speak, but the principal was right that nobody would have signed up for this if he threw it out there to the senior class. It was nothing lame, but who could really speak on behalf of the senior class what they learned throughout their time here? Certainly not two regular kids like Trish and Dez, and certainly not Ally, despite her popularity._

_"I think that's very reasonable, sir," Ally responded._

_"Now, I know your parents might have other things in store for you," this time he looked at their parents, "but if it helps, thank you," Principal Tolken said about saving his car._

**_Later That Evening_**

_"Ally we are so disappointed in you!" her father started. Trish and Dez's family were also at Ally's house. The parents wanted to lecture their kids in front of each other to make it that more embarrassing._

_"But dad, didn't you hear Mr. Tolken? It wasn't our fault!" Ally protested._

_"Then why did you get caught?!" he boiled in anger._

_"Dez, when are you going to learn to grow up?! Stop being a silly boy and become a man already!" a short but buff man was telling off his tall redheaded son._

_"I'm sorry Dad, but Ally needed our help. And this has nothing to do with my creative side!" he crossed his arms like a little boy._

_"Patricia María De la Rosa, tu padre y yo estamos muy decepcionados en ti. Debe detener estas payasadas infantiles y ponernos serios sobre su futuro,"_

_"Pero mamá, estoy siendo responsable. ¿Qué te hace pensar que no se preocupan por mi futuro?"_

_"Ugh!" the two Latinas said and crossed arms, turning away from each other._

_"Trish, do not talk to your mother like that," her dad, a pudgy average height man scolded._

_"But papa, she thinks it's my fault!"_

_"I don't care whose fault it is, don't talk back to your mother like that."_

_"Mom, can you please tell dad that he's getting upset for nothing?" Ally begged her mother._

_"Ally sweetie, we know you didn't start it, we're just disappointed that you were a part of it."_

_"Yeah, we're all disappointed in you kids. What were you thinking? Why be a part of something this stupid?" Dez's father questioned._

_"Exactly. Since when was school pranks more important than actual school?" Ally's dad added._

_"Makes you wonder what they teach our kids nowadays," Dez's mother said._

_"We expected more from you kids," Trish's mother concluded._

_"We know, and we're sorry," Ally tried explaining. "We really weren't thinking when it all started, but can you at least acknowledge that what we did at the end was the right thing?"_

_"If it was right, you wouldn't have gotten in trouble," her father pointed out._

_"But Dad…" Ally tried but really had nothing left to say._

_"And how many times have I told you I don't like those friends of yours, Ally? See, it only took a matter of time for you to get in trouble."_

_"What? Dez and Trish? It's not their fault! This is all me," she defended._

_"Not Dez and Trish. Ethan and his friends," her dad corrected._

_"Wait, hold up," Dez's father interrupted. "Since when were you three friends again?"_

_"Uh… Well…" Ally, Dez and Trish muttered._

_The three teenagers looked at each other. Were they friends again?_

_"You know what, it doesn't matter. What are we going to do about these kids, Lester?" Trish's father asked._

_Mr. Dawson paced back and forth in silence for a minute. He decided he would think well with an ice-cold beer so he walked over to his refrigerator to grab a few bottles for the other dads. Closing the refrigerator door and popping the cap off of one, he look a look swig. Mr. Dawson's eyes fell on a birthday greeting that his sister mailed him for his recent birthday tucked under a magnet on the door. He pulled it off the wall and flipped the postcard over. Examining the back for a minute, he came to a conclusion._

_"Minnesota," he said stepping back in the room, handing beers to the other dads._

_"Minnesota?" Dez was confused._

_"Dad, what about Minnesota?" Ally asked._

_"You're punishment."_

_"What?" Ally grew wide-eyed._

_"You're going to Minnesota, Ally. It'll teach you to be more responsible."_

_"How will that teach me to be responsible? By sending me away from you?!"_

_"You're aunt Lisa lives there, remember? It's time you learn to take responsibility. You'll help her and your uncle George with a new project of mine and whatever they need help with and until you grow up, you'll be staying with her for the summer."_

_"The entire summer?! Dad! Minnesota is the middle of nowhere! Aunt Lisa doesn't even live in the city, she's in the countryside! How am I supposed to have fun?"_

_"This trip isn't about fun. It's about responsibility. It's final, Ally. You're going."_

_"Oh, Ally. I'm so sorry," Trish said._

_Dez's father and Trish's father both shared a glance and smiled._

_"You know what, Lester. That's not a bad idea. You mind if my Dez-y boy goes with her?"_

_"And Trish too."_

_"What?!"_

_"Dad, no!"_

_"As a matter of fact, that's a great idea. There you go Ally. You'll have lots of fun catching up with your old friends. I'm sure you guys have missed each other these past two years. Now's your chance to rekindle."_

_"But dad!"_

_"No buts, Allyson. You kids leave the day after graduation. Until then, you are to stay home and you cannot socialize with anyone."_

**End Flashback**

* * *

The morning after graduation came too soon. Ally asked Ethan and his friends if they would say goodbye to her and they promised. But Ally phoned Ethan that morning and he was just waking up from a massive hangover from a grad party.

_"Ethan, I won't see you for two months and this is how you're saying goodbye to me? Through a phone call?"_

_(on the phone) "S-sorry babe. Trent's party was just so poppin' last night I couldn't help it. He's my best friend."_

_"And I'm your girlfriend."_

_"Look, if you want me to go to you right now, I won't be at all presentable to your father. He already hates my guts, stupid asshole."_

_"Hey, he may be strict, but don't call my dad that."_

_"I'm sorry. He's just too overprotective of you it's insane. I'm sure he's sending you somewhere with hillbillies and monsters."_

_"I'm staying with relatives so it won't be that bad. Plus Trish and Dez's parents made them go too."_

_"Those losers? Don't tell me you're all friends again, Ally."_

_"Ethan…"_

_"Sorry. Well, I hope you're not bored to death so much. Trent's dad is letting us go to the lake house for a month so I'll try to call when I can."_

_"Sure I guess. Well, I gotta go. My flight's leaving soon."_

_*click*_

"Mom, did you make sure my blow dryer and curling iron were packed? And where's my hairspray?"

"You know sweetie, I would have never guessed that you'd be so high maintenance in your life," Mrs. Dawson chuckled.

"High maintenance or not, a girl still has to have proper grooming, mom," Ally said naively.

"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry about your father's behavior lately."

"It's not your fault, mom. Dad's just mad at me. I get it. I'm not the son he's always wanted."

"Hey don't say that. He just wants what's best for you."

"And how does he know what's best for me? He won't even listen to me. No one does."

"Trish and Dez did once upon a time," her mother pointed.

Ally fell silent. Her mother knew Ally so well.

"Maybe you could look at this trip as a good thing."

* * *

**Six hours and 1 layover later**

Ally's dad put them on a commercial plane with a one-hour layover to Minneapolis. From there, they were to be picked up by a private plane to land at a non primary airport about a half hour away from their destination. Ally spent the entire flight getting as much sleep as she could, as did Trish and Dez. From the time they boarded to when they finally reached the airport, neither of the three really talked to one another.

Ally, Trish and Dez were greeted by Ally's aunt, her father's youngest sibling, and her husband.

"Ally, sweetheart! I haven't seen you in over ten years!" her aunt enveloped her into a hug.

"Hi Aunt Lisa," Ally was always excited to talk to her aunt. Though they were mostly through telephone, her aunt really understood her.

"Hey there, little miss," her uncle tipped his hat.

"Hi uncle George," Ally gave him a hug as well.

Coming back to reality, Ally remembered she was with other people.

"Aunt Lisa, Uncle George, this is Trish and Dez. They're uh, my classmates from school."

"Ahh, the other trouble makers," uncle George chuckled.

"Hi," Trish and Dez said shaking their hands but sulked in embarrassment.

"Well, let's not make this any more awkward. Let's get you guys home and we'll sort things out then. You kids mind if we drop by the town for a minute? We want to pick up some pie to celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?" Dez asked.

"You kids visiting!" Aunt Lisa exclaimed.

"Celebrate? This is punishment, aunt Lisa."

"Then let's celebrate your punishment!" she laughed. They all gathered their bags, tossed them into the back of uncle George's pick-up truck and headed to town. The drive was bumpy, to say the least, nothing Ally was used to.

"Welcome to Dawson, MN. 'The Small City With The Bright Future'," Dez read the sign aloud. "Wait, Dawson?"

As they reached further into town, Trish and Dez realized two things: the town's name, and the names of the shops – Dawson. They were in Dawson, Minnesota and almost every shop on the strip had the name "Dawson" as a part of it. The two looked at each other, bewildered, and glanced at Ally.

"What? You both know that my dad's rich," Ally reminded them. "It hasn't been that long."

"No, we knew that, Ally. But we didn't know he owned a city!"

"This place isn't really a city. It's more like a town. A small town. My dad's great granddad was named after this city. And he owned a few businesses as well."

"William Dawson, he was a landowner. Ally's old man is the oldest of the siblings and now he owns this place," George added.

"Huh. You learn something new every day," Dez said. This lightened the mood and the three of them sort of smiled.

"But I thought you were born in St. Paul?" Trish questioned.

"Yeah, I was," Ally smiled. Trish remembered. Unlike Brooke. Why did weren't they friends again?

After what seemed like forever waiting for the pie at the bakery (it really only took 10 minutes), they were on the road again to their countryside home. George pulled into a dirt road and was driving through the pasture. A lot of dust was accumulating and Ally was getting irritated on top of the 90-degree weather.

"This is not how I pictured my summer vacation," she muttered to herself.

"You kids can sit outside if you'd like. We don't have air conditioning in here," her aunt suggested.

"Not a bad idea," Ally said as she, Trish and Dez climbed out of the rooftop window to the bed of the truck. They settled on some of their luggage and let the wind hit their sweaty faces. Ally used a neck scarf to shield her mouth from any dust hitting her face.

Her uncle drove over a very bumpy stretch, causing Ally to lose her balance for a second and hit her head to the side of the cab. Having to focus her grip on something to keep from falling, her scarf flew the opposite direction along with the wind.

"My scarf! Uncle George, stop the truck!"

Uncle George made an abrupt stop, jerking everyone forward. Ally jumped out of the truck and started looking around the ground, hoping her scarf didn't wander too far.

"What's going on, Ally?" Uncle George stepped out of the car. Trish and Dez stepped down while aunt Lisa stayed seated.

"My scarf flew away. I can't lose that. I got it from Italy!" Ally complained.

"Sweetheart. It probably fell nearby. Just look harder."

"Or it could has flown away with the wind," Dez said.

"Oh no! We have to turn around to get it back!"

"Well, the sun's setting and we're still about one mile to the house. I don't want to lug everything in the dark. You can find it tomorrow," Uncle George told her.

"No, it'll be too late by then. We have to find it now. I'm not going anywhere until I see it again."

George looked at Trish and Dez with an 'is she serious?' face and Trish just nodded.

"Why don't Dez and I help Ally find it and we'll just walk to the house. It's only a mile, right?"

"Alright. Well if you kids aren't back in an hour I'll come and get you then," George said then climbed back into his truck and drove off.

"Are we really going to help her find a scarf?" Dez whispered to Trish.

"I think it flew down the road!" Ally shouted about 50 feet ahead of them. She began running down the road.

"Of course, because this is how I want to spend my vacation," Dez rolled his eyes.

"Come on, freckles. Her family's letting us stay here for free. It's the least we can do. Who knows, maybe something good will come out of this," Trish hoped. "Maybe, just maybe."

* * *

**A/N: Just wanted to clear a few things. I'm not from Minnesota. Don't really know much about the state except for the twin cities. In the show, Ally mentioned she was from Minnesota. I think it was St. Paul, or maybe I just made her from St. Paul in my fic. And as you just read, I was able to incorporate a much better plot due to Ally's last name, Dawson. For the purpose of this story, I just wanted to clarify that I'm using semi-fictional geographical and historical references that I_ made up_. K bye.**


	3. Chapter 3

Ally, Trish and Dez started on the direction in which they came from hoping to find her scarf. After about five minutes, Ally's luck kept diminishing. The strap on her wedges ripped off making it difficult to walk comfortably in them, so she took them off. She wasn't used to the dirt road so she sat on a log at the side of the road and pouted.

"Why does everything bad have to happen to me?" she groaned.

"No it doesn't," Dez tried to relieve her.

"Yes, it does. Everything is so horrible! Nothing ever goes the way I want and I'm too chicken of a person to do something about it. I even dragged you guys into this mess," she began to tear up.

"Ally, don't cry. It's not your fault. We chose to help you," Trish said.

Ally pushed back her tears and sighed.

"I really am sorry for getting you two in trouble."

"It's ok. At least we got a free trip out of it," Dez tried lightening the mood.

Ally and Trish chuckled at him, the three of them finally content with each other for the first time during the whole trip. Ally wanted to bring up what they were all thinking, and she figured that it was the perfect moment. But before she could say anything, she heard a faint noise from a distance. Roaring. It was getting deeper and louder. A beige truck was heading towards them with a guy that looked close to their age riding in it. As he got closer, they saw that he was wearing ripped jeans, a red sleeveless flannel and a cowboy hat. He appeared before them roughly getting his vehicle to stop. He hopped out and glanced at the three of them. Noticing Ally's clothes (designer brands compared to what Trish and Dez were wearing), he assumed he was looking for her.

"I believe this is yours, ma'am," he presented a silk scarf in his hands.

"My scarf!" Ally screamed.

"Yes it is. May I?" he offered to wrap it around her neck. Ally froze. He took a step closer to her and she finally noticed his features. He was fit, but not too fit, and he was tall; she reached just an inch or two above his shoulders. He had warm and inviting brown eyes and an even warmer smile. She had never seen someone so _handsome_.

"There we are," he said as he finished wrapping it around. She was snapped out of her thoughts and finally met eye to eye with him. To say he wasn't taken aback would have been a complete lie. He almost forgot to breathe. He was mesmerized by her brown orbs and naïve smile. Her rosy cheeks made him blush. What got him the most was that she looked extremely familiar. He looked back down at his hands, still holding on to her scarf. Letting go, he caught a glimpse at her necklace. It had her name on it.

"Ally?"

"Uh…" Ally was confused.

"Well I'll be. Ally Dawson in the flesh," the boy said tipping his hat in disbelief. Ally, Trish and Dez were clueless.

"I guess you don't remember me, huh?" he chuckled.

"Should I?" she felt a bit guilty.

"Well we haven't seen each other in about a decade. I doubt you'd remember. It's me, Austin," he said.

"Austin Moon?" Trish said out of the blue. Everyone turned to face Trish. They were shocked that she figured out first who he was.

"Uh, yeah…" Austin said before turning back to Ally. "You know, Austin Moon? Mike and-"

"Auntie Mimi's son?" Ally finally gathered.

"Yep! That's my mom!" he smiled.

"Oh my gosh, Austin?!" Ally smiled and hugged him tightly. "Look at you!"

"Look at me? Look at you! You're so grown up now!"

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Dez raised his hand, the most confused from everyone.

"Austin was a friend of mine back when I lived in Minnesota. We played together before he moved to Minneapolis and I moved to Florida."

"Ohhh," Dez gathered.

"Yep. You were what, 5 back then?" Austin asked. Ally nodded.

"Well as much fun as this little reunion has been, we still need to get back to your Aunt Lisa's," Trish informed everyone as they noticed the sun setting.

"Oh, right."

"You're staying with your Aunt Lisa?" he asked.

"Yep. But in all honesty, I have no idea where we are…"

"Neither do I."

"Me too."

"Well, lucky for you guys, I do. Come on," Austin said as he invited Ally, Trish and Dez into his truck. Dez sat in the bed since there was no space inside. Austin claimed it was the gentleman thing to do and Trish did not complain.

They reached her aunt Lisa's place about 15 minutes later. Throughout the drive back, Austin told Trish and Dez stories from when he and Ally used to play around as little kids. Ally had a fun time remembering these things seeing as she barely remembered herself.

"Ah, so I see you've met Austin," Aunt Lisa said as the kids walked in.

"You mean reconnected," Trish said of the laughing pair.

"Right," Aunt Lisa smiled.

"Austin, thanks for driving us. You really didn't have to," Ally told him.

"I wanted to," he said. "Plus-"

"Austin! Come on, son. We've got trucks to fix," Uncle George said coming in from the back door.

"Wait, you work for my family?" Ally was confused.

"Gotta pay the bills somehow," he shrugged and started out the door. "It was great seeing you again, Ally."

Aunt Lisa had Ally, Trish and Dez settle into their rooms before calling them for dinner. The four of them ate while her uncle and Austin were in the garage still working.

"So, Austin works for uncle George? Doing what exactly?"

"Anything really. The boy needs the money. And he's a good kid. You're uncle George is like a second father to him," Aunt Lisa said while passing out the pie.

"But why does he need all the money? What about his parents?" Ally wondered.

"Speaking of parents, we need to talk about your stay here, kids," Aunt Lisa attempted to change subjects. Surprisingly it worked for now since Ally was just as much curious as to what she'd have to help her aunt with that summer.

"Alright, don't sugar coat it, just tell us our punishment and we'll get on with it," Ally said suddenly not hungry for pie anymore.

Lisa noticed the anticipation in teens' faces and she softly smiled.

"Lester may be my older brother and he may have given me firm instructions. But I'm a mother first and foremost, and I would have never deprived Charlie of his childhood."

"Who's Charlie?" Dez inquired.

"Aunt Lisa's son. He lives in St. Louis with his fiancée," Ally told them.

"Anyway, let's get back to the real reason why you kids are here. Now your parents, especially Lester, gave me specific instructions on what you kids can and cannot do," she said pulling out a few pieces of paper she printed from her brother's email. It was about 7 pages long.

"Dear God, my dad is impossible," Ally rolled her eyes.

"That's what I said to George when we received this email," Aunt Lisa laughed. "Now in this boring email, he was just being specific on how to make sure you kids work your debt and learn the meaning of responsibility and all that crap. I'm sure you already heard that spiel, huh?"

The three of them nodded.

"Well, the first bullet says 'Make sure Ally and her friends help you and George with whatever you ask them to do. No questions asked' and frankly I think that just about summed up this whole message."

With that, her aunt tore the seven page email into shreds before their eyes.

"Aunt Lisa, what are you doing?"

"Oh come on, Ally. I'm not going to make you kids' lives any more miserable than what your parents did. Of course we're going to listen to your parents' wishes and you kids will do everything we ask, but one of the things I'm asking you is to just be kids for as long as you can. You're all, what, 18 now? You may be adults, but you're still teenagers. We may not have a beach or a flashy downtown, but maybe a nice change in scenery would do you kids good. Find the simplicity in life and that should just about do it."

"Ally, you never told us your Aunt Lisa was so awesome!" Dez exclaimed.

"You're really not going to slave us all summer?" Ally was dumbfounded.

"You're going to help out. Do some jobs with uncle George, but other than that, here's your chance to be away from your parents and friends. From what I hear, you three have a lot of catching up to do." Aunt Lisa may not have lived in Miami, but she was just as well aware that Ally, Trish and Dez had some loose ends to tie. "Now get some rest. We'll be up early tomorrow."

"Oh no, are you the morning risers?" Trish dreaded, "I mean this may be the small town living, but you folks don't seem too much as farmers."

"Trish!" Dez stopped her.

"They're not farmers," Ally giggled.

"No, no sweetie," Aunt Lisa laughed. "I mean George and I wake up at 6, but we really don't start out days until 7. But I guess since it's summer time and you kids are new to all this, breakfast will be served at 7:30."

As aunt Lisa put the dishes away, Ally spoke up.

"Wait, aunt Lisa!"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Are you going to tell our parents about this?"

"I won't if you won't," she winked and disappeared to her room.

"She's awesome," Dez repeated and the three of them retired in their rooms for the night.

Ally tried her best to get some shut eye knowing even on a school day it was hard for her to get up so early in the morning. And her body was in summer mode so she'd be waking up way later than usual. But she just couldn't seem to fall asleep. So she got up and went to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Well, it was 11:45, close enough. Ally wasn't the only one with the same misfortune of sleep. She was met by a pair of curly hair and a red mop top in the hallway.

"Oh, hey guys," Ally said, finding it such a coincidence that all three of them opened their doors and stepped out to the hallway at the same time.

"Hey Ally," Dez said.

After a few awkward seconds, Trish spoke up.

"Can't sleep?" the Latina asked.

"Nope," she shook her head.

"Does your aunt have any cereal?" Dez wondered.

"It's like you read my mind," Ally said and led them downstairs to the kitchen. She found the cereal in the cupboard while Dez took out some bowls and set them on the counter. Trish grabbed the milk and spoons and settled at the seat in between Ally and Dez. They poured their cereals and ate a bit in silence, letting the crunch of the corn flakes take over the room.

"I really am sorry for getting you guys into this mess," Ally said fiddling with her spoon.

Dez and Trish exchanged a glance and shrugged.

"It's not so bad. I mean, we may not be in the city, but at least our parents aren't around," he pointed out.

"Yeah, in fact we should be thanking you, Ally. I don't know how much longer I could take living at home before going off to college. I can't wait to leave already," Trish added.

"Well, uh, you're welcome?" she said, more like asked.

They settled into a less awkward silence, enjoy each other's company. Ally, however, still had more to say.

"Guys I'm sorry."

"Ally, we told you, no need to be sorry," Trish said.

"No," Ally started, "I mean, I'm sorry for leaving."

Awkward silence fell between them again.

"We understand, Alls."

"I know you do, but it's still horrible of me to do. I don't know what happened. How it all went so far for so long."

Dez, when you gave him a chance, could be less goofy and very serious in times like these. He patted his hand on Ally's elbow.

"Life happened, Ally," he smiled.

"You know I didn't mean to leave you guys behind. It's just Ethan was very specific with me being his girlfriend and I didn't know what to do really."

"We get that Ally, that's why we never did anything," Trish explained. "You've been a wallflower all your life. Do you think your best friends would ruin your spotlight? You deserve to be noticed."

"Thanks Trish. But I wish I could have had you guys _and_ Ethan's crowd."

"You can't have everything," Dez joked. "Even if you've got a town named after you."

The girls laughed at him.

"I really do miss you guys," he patted both their hands.

"We do too, Alls," Trish said. Only Trish and Dez ever called her Alls. They were the closest to her, so maybe that nickname was reserved for the special people in her life. Trish and Ally hugged for the first time in two years and Dez suddenly had an idea.

"I've got it!"

"What?" Ally said breaking the embrace.

"Well, we're not in Miami," he started.

"No duh," Trish said, rolling her eyes at her not so bright best friend.

"And we basically have no contact with anyone back home because they're actually going to enjoy their summer," he continued.

"Ok?" Ally said.

"And everyone is basically hinting it at us…"

"Dez get to the point," Trish was impatient.

Ally smiled to herself. _Some things never change_, she thought.

"We have a whole summer together with no one around. If we're ok with it, why don't we make up for lost time?" he stated.

The girls thought for a minute.

"It's like you read my mind," Ally said once again.

"Wow I must be a psychic! I read your mind twice tonight!" he exclaimed.

"Dez, I think we were all thinking it," Trish rolled her eyes.

"Then it's settled," Ally stated. "Do you guys want to be friends again?" she gestured to Trish and Dez.

"No," Dez said crossing his arms.

"No?" Trish and Ally gasped.

"Why would you say no when this was your idea, dummy?!" Trish smacked his arm.

"Ow! If you let me finish!" he uncrossed his arms and tried shielding himself. "I meant no we can't be friends again because deep down, I think we all know we've always been friends," he said in a 'duh isn't it obvious' tone.

Ally and Trish laughed and the three of them hugged.

"Man Dez, you've gotten a lot smarter than I remembered," Ally was impressed.

"That's because he stopped locking himself in his room playing video games and actually started studying."

"Really? How'd that happen?"

"Parents," Dez answered putting a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"He didn't want to go to college nearby so he got his grades up to go to U of F like he hoped."

Ally nearly chocked on her cereal.

"You got accepted to U of F?! Me too!"

"Oh yeah that's right. We both wanted to go there. That's awesome! And Trish got into St. Leo!"

"Wow, we got into the schools we said we wanted to," Ally noted.

"That we did, Ally," Dez tried sounding smart.

"Some things haven't changed so much then," Trish pointed out.

"No, I don't think so. As long as it's about us at least," Ally smiled.

"Speaking of us," Dez said. "So Ally, is Austin like an old boyfriend or something?"

"Boyfriend? Dez we were 7 the last time we saw each other. He thought I had cooties."

"Ah 7, when I ate my first worm," he daydreamed.

"Well actually, Austin's 2 years older so he was 9."

"Ah 9, when Billy Voight challenged me in a hotdog eating contest…. I won obviously."

"Can we get back to Austin and Ally, Dez?" Trish was annoyed.

"There is no Austin and Ally, Trish. He's just an old friend."

"Says the little girl I met when we were 8 and you told me about your friend Austin from Minnesota," she raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you-?"

"I remember everything you tell me, Alls. We didn't become best friends by default you know."

"Tell me about it. I get sucked into Ethan's crowd and Brooke automatically claims me as her bff. She doesn't know a thing about me except I'm smart and I'm dating Ethan."

"Told you she was dumb," Dez told Trish. Ally laughed. She couldn't agree more.

"Anyway, back to hottie cowboy. Ally, tell us the truth…"

"Ok fine. I had a little crush on him when I was younger, but he and I are so different now. It was a thing in the past. He's just a friend, I promise. Plus I have Ethan."

"Yeah, about that…" Trish said.

"What?" Ally asked.

"Why are you with Ethan when you're clearly not happy?" Dez blurted.

"Way to say it nicely, freckles!" Trish once again assaulted his arm.

"No, it's ok… I – I… I don't know. I guess, I'm just comfortable with him. I mean, he notices me."

"Does he really?" Trish asked.

"It's complicated. But we're making it work."

"You mean, _you're_ making it work," Trish pointed out.

"Then maybe this summer is good for me to figure out what I really want," Ally suggested.

"Not a bad idea," Dez said, "for all of us."

* * *

Ally was woken up by her uncle rapping on her door.

"Ally, darling, you need to wake up now. Your breakfast is getting cold and we need to head to town soon."

Ally grunted, she lifted her heavy head from her pillow to check the time. 8:15 AM_. It's a start_, she thought to herself.

"Why is everyone up so early?" Ally said groggily walking downstairs trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning, Alls," Trish said stiffly. Ally was wondering why she said it that way until she finally looked up and ahead seeing her aunt, uncle, Trish, Dez, AND Austin at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Austin was over. Austin Moon. She had just gotten out of bed and not even bothered to clean herself up. She stood frozen, Trish glaring at her mentally saying 'girl you need to look presentable in front of Austin!'. She didn't dare to check the mirror in the hallway at her appearance. Messy hair, short shorts, and an oversized t-shirt that most likely belonged to Ethan.

"Morning," Austin smiled.

Ally dashed back to her room and shut the door before letting anyone see her flushed cheeks.

_That was so embarrassing!_ She thought to herself. She heard a knock on the door.

"Ally, it's me Trish." Ally let her inside hurriedly.

"You sure know how to catch everyone's attention," her best friend chuckled.

"Why didn't you tell me Austin was over?!" she said trying to run a comb through her hair.

"We tried waking you up at 7. You were knocked out. It's ok, Alls. Dez immediately changed the subject talking about llamas and Austin was more interested in that."

"Oh thank God. Do I have some time to get ready?"

"About 20 minutes. You want any breakfast?"

"Just save me some fruit or something. Thanks, Trish."

"No problem," she said making her way to the door. "You know, for someone who just sees Austin as a friend, you really get self conscious around him."

"Get out," Ally said throwing a pillow towards her door.

After 20 minutes, Ally came back downstairs wearing a much more presentable outfit.

"Hey Aunt Lisa, where is everyone?"

"They're getting ready to head to town so you better get your butt moving. You want anything to snack on before you leave?"

"I asked Trish to save me some food, thanks Aunt Lisa. See you!"

Ally walked out to the drive way to find everyone loading several objects to two trucks.

"Look who decided to show her face," Uncle George chuckled.

"Morning. What are we doing?" Ally said.

"Bringing some old furniture to the thrift shop in town. Then we need to stop by the market. Your aunt wants to make peach cobbler tonight and you know I won't deny that," he winked.

Trish and Dez were holding a bed frame in place in one of the truck beds. They waved at Ally.

"So are we leaving now?"

"Yep. Trish and Dez have to stay holding that frame so it won't fall so I'm going to need you to ride with Austin in the other truck."

"Ok," she said and walked over to the other truck.

"Good morning, Ally," he tipped his hat.

"Hi," she said sliding in to the passenger seat.

"Have a nice sleep?"

"It was short but good enough," she said before yawning.

"Well you're going to need a lot of energy for today. Here, have an apple." He pulled one out of his shirt pocket and tossed it to her.

"Thanks. I asked Trish to get me one but I don't mind having two."

"Trish? She ate that apple. I had to pry this one from Dez so you could have some kind of breakfast in you," he chuckled.

"Of course," she rolled her eyes and took a bite. "Thanks."

"So do you know how to drive stick?"

"Nope. I barely know how to drive automatic. My dad won't let me drive so my license is just collecting dust in my wallet."

He opened the passenger door for her and she stepped in.

"Well I could teach you one of these days if you'd like. It's always a good skill to have in case you need it."

"Sure I guess. But I'm not promising anything easy."

"Ally, I've handled wild horses and tractors. I think I can handle a petite little lady like you," he chuckled.

Ally hid her growing blush taking a sizeable bite of her apple with a generous crunch. To say that it didn't make someone crave an apple was one thing, but the fact that some juice had seeped from the bite she took and she ate is so carefully caught Austin's attention.

"That's some apple you got there," he remarked.

"Huh?" she said realizing she was crunching pretty loud. She then covered her mouth.

"No need to act shy," he chuckled. "It's kind of cute, the way you chew."

She turned away from him taking another bite of her apple but mainly to hide her blush. They hadn't even pulled out of her uncle's driveway and she was already growing nervous. This was going to be a long ride.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Really loving the Austin & Ally marathon on Disney Channel today xD**

* * *

"So, why didn't you tell me you worked with my aunt and uncle?" she asked on their drive into town. It was a good 20 minutes and she wasn't going to spend it in silence.

"Ally, we had just seen each other for 2 minutes and I just met your friends. Believe me if the circumstances were different, I'd have loved to talk to you all night."

She bit into her apple to hide the smile forming on her lips.

"I don't live with my parents anymore, they never left the city. So I make a living doing odd jobs for George and anyone else who needs me. Mostly George though."

"Oh, I see."

"And what about you, Ally? Little miss uptown girl."

"What about me? I haven't really changed," she said.

"Oh really? I know it's been over ten years, but the little girl I knew didn't care about designer clothes or looking good in front of a crowd," he smirked.

So he did notice. She glanced at him and he smiled, not meeting her gaze though.

"Well I was a little girl back then, Austin. I'm a lady now."

"Whether you're seven or eighteen, you're still beautiful, Ally. You don't need anything else."

"Thanks," she blushed this time letting him see.

"But seriously. What are you, in college now?"

"Going to be. I just graduated from high school a couple days ago."

"Oh well congratulations," he flashed a smile. "Where are you headed to?"

"Still in Florida, just north from home though."

"Far from your parents?"

"That's the plan."

"You excited to go to college?"

"Of course I am. It's been a dream of mine since like forever."

"You don't seem excited?"

"I am, it's just… Is this really all I strived for? What happens when you meet your dream? What then?"

"Make another dream," he said it so simply.

"But is college really all I want out of life?" she questioned.

"Well… sometimes what we want may be different from what we need. We just need to figure out which one will make us a better person, you know?"

"I guess," she was only half sure.

"And besides, you're young, Ally. You don't have to have all the answers right now," he assured her.

"Thanks, Austin," she genuinely smiled. For once in her life, talking about her future didn't end up with her stressing out even more. In fact, Austin was the first person to not pressure her to answer or compare her to her father, which was a relief to her.

It took about 3 hours altogether to drive into town and lug out all the items Ally's uncle donated to the thrift shop. It wasn't the fact that they had a lot of things to give, it was the fact that Ally's uncle knew the people at the shop and anyone else they encountered along the way. She was so amazed by his friendliness and genuine interest in the townspeople.

"Wow, does my uncle know everyone in this town?" Ally asked as she, Austin, Trish and Dez were sipping water and standing near the trucks.

"Well for one thing, there's about 1,500 people in this town and probably a third of the population was born here and have grown up here since. And second, he should know people here, I mean, the town's named Dawson after all," Austin reasoned.

"Tell that to my father," she scoffed. "almost half a million people in Florida and unless they're wearing designer suits, he barely knows 100, let along his own daughter."

Austin froze, almost choking on his water in the process.

"Austin, you ok man?" Dez whacked his back. This just caused Austin to hack even more.

"Dez, don't kill the guy," Trish said.

"No I'm fine," Austin said before taking a gulp of water. "It's just," he turned to Ally, "Ally, I didn't know your father is Lester Dawson."

"Well like you said, we barely had time to really catch up, Austin," she reasoned. "But what does that have to do with anything? And how do you know my dad?"

"Because," he explained, "Lester Dawson's the most powerful person in the Dawson clan. He pretty much owns this town."

"Don't remind me. And don't remind him too. He's already an ego driven maniac."

"I thought you knew Ally when you were younger?" Trish wondered.

"I only really just knew her mother, Penny, because our moms were good friends. Don't think I ever met Lester come to think of it. And I'm not one to really pry into people's lives if they want it to be kept private," he winked at Ally.

She smiled, trying all her might not to blush.

"Whoa, Ally. You never told us that your dad was the head of your entire family!" Dez exclaimed.

"Well, it's not something I advertise, you know. I don't flaunt my money and you two of all people should know that," she defended.

"That's true," Trish said. Then she turned to Austin. "Well even if she's Mr. Dawson's daughter, what's the matter with that?"

"Well for one thing, just the fact that Lester Dawson's daughter is here is news enough. He's been the talk of the town for a while. And another, there's nothing the matter, It's just surprising that's all."

"Talk of the town? What do you mean?" Trish asked.

But before Austin could explain, uncle George came back.

"Well would you look at the time, it's almost lunch! Austin, why don't you take these kids to the shopping mall since it's only 15 minutes from here and you kids take the rest of the afternoon off."

"Really uncle George?" Ally was surprised.

"Yeah. Aunt Lisa and I want you kids to get acclimated with the place. Austin knows all the best hot pots for youngins like you better than me obviously. Just make sure you kids are home by 4 to help Lisa with dinner."

"Sounds good, thanks," Dez replied.

George said goodbye and drove home in one of the trucks, leaving Austin, Ally, Trish and Dez with the other one.

"You would think that your uncle suggested we hangout in town today that he'd give us the larger truck!" Trish complained. She ended up sitting in the bed of the truck with Dez while Austin and Ally sat in the cab during the drive to the mall.

"Hey, riding the bed of the truck is fun. You would never be able to do that in Florida."

"Yeah, having wind slap you in the face under this stupid heat is so desirable."

They arrived at the mall and Trish practically leaped from the bed of the truck to the ground. Ally and Trish walked behind the guys because Trish was still stubborn from the ride.

"The ride wasn't that bad, Trish."

"Easy for you to say. You got to sit inside _and_ with Austin too."

"What do you mean by '_and_ Austin'?" Ally was confused.

"Oh please, Alls. Don't give me the dumb act."

"What act?" she was genuinely confused.

"Ok fine, we'll play it your way," Trish winked.

"Ok?" Ally was still confused.

"Welcome to the Dawson shopping mall," Austin announced once they got inside. "Now the food court's in the north end and the cinema is in the west end. But the re-" Austin realized he was only talking to Dez.

"Where'd the girls go?"

"Shopping," Dez said non-chalantly.

"Women," Austin chuckled.

"Don't worry, they usually take one hour at a time before Ally wants a snack break or Trish wants to watch a movie or something. They'll probably be in the food court in an hour."

"Oh. Ok. There's an arcade around the corner. Want to shoot some alien guts?" Austin offered.

"Sure," Dez said and the two guys walked off.

An hour later, Ally and Trish parked themselves in the food court. They were loaded with shopping bags.

"Whoa, did you buy the entire mall?" Dez said as he and Austin spotted them.

"Seems like it, huh?" Austin added.

"Hey, it's not our fault! We only went to a few shops but after Ally used all her cash and started using her credit card, they recognized who she was and they practically handed her everything she touched!" Trish exclaimed.

"Well I didn't even want anything. You were the one who kept insisting we get things!"

"Hey, free stuff is free stuff," Trish bragged.

"Oi," Ally started rubbing her temples.

"Uh, well do you guys want to eat some lunch soon?" Austin asked.

"Sure. But do you think we can drop these off at the truck first?" Trish asked.

After 10 minutes, the gang grabbed some soft pretzels and smoothies. Trish and Dez decided to head off to the video store (surprisingly the only thing they have in common was their taste in movies), leaving Austin and Ally to walk around.

"So, you having fun?" he asked as they walked around.

"Hard to tell yet. It's only really my first day."

"Yeah, but remember how much we were able to do in one day?"

"Oh yeah. Scavenger hunts in the morning, a lava garden at lunch, and tree house wars after dinner," Ally recalled.

"Those were the days," Austin smiled.

"Definitely. So what do you do around here for fun?" she asked.

"Well there's the mall. The cinema. And at night it gets pretty lively at the strip. There are teen friendly restaurants and there's sometimes just casual hangouts at the gazebo."

"Hm. Sounds very chill."

"We don't need all that Hollywood glamour to have a good time around here."

"That's not what I meant," she defended.

"I know," he assured her. "But sometimes simple is better."

"That was so awesome!" Dez exclaimed to Trish as they made their way to Austin and Ally.

"I know! Of all the places to find a director's cut of Zalien's 9, it was here of all places!"

"Uh hey guys. Have fun?" Ally smiled.

"Oh yeah! This place had a director's cut of the Zalien's movie and Dez and I got a glimpse of it!"

"You guys like Zaliens? Gosh you remind me of my other friends," Austin chuckled.

"You've got Zalien friends?! Dude we've got to meet them some time and have a movie marathon!" Dez cheered.

"I'm sure they'd love to meet you guys. In fact, Ally remember when I told you we have community nights here? There's one tonight if you guys are interested."

"You mean like a social gathering?" Trish asked.

"Mhm."

"We'll be there!" she said for all of them.

* * *

"Trish, why were we so eager to go out tonight?" Dez asked.

"Who's going out?" Uncle George asked at the dinner table.

"Austin told us something about a community night at the strip and he invited us," Ally said.

"Wonderful! We weren't sure if you kids were up for it but your uncle George and I are heading over later. It's why I needed your help for dinner tonight. We're bringing some peach cobbler."

"Is it like a pot luck?" Ally asked.

"No. We're just doing our part."

"Part of what?" Trish asked.

"Part of being in this community. We may have the name of this town, but it's our community as well. Now when you kids are finished putting the pies in the oven go on and get ready. We'll leave in about an hour."

They arrived in town at around 6 pm. By that time, many of the townspeople had arrived and were enjoying themselves. The three ate dinner with Ally's aunt and uncle before finally being able to walk about. Ally was the first to spot Austin, not a surprise according to Trish.

"Guys! Hey!" Austin said. "I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. Dallas, Cassidy, meet your city twins Trish and Dez," Austin laughed.

"Zalien brain suck!" the four of them yelled.

"I guess you told them about Trish and Dez," Ally laughed.

"I had to," he chuckled. They settled down. "And finally, this is Ally."

"Oh, _the_ Ally," Dallas exaggerated.

"Huh?" she was confused.

"Austin has told us so much about you," Cassidy added.

"He has?" she grew nervous.

"He has," Trish smirked in shock and affirmation.

This prompted Austin to blush, though he looked away before anyone noticed.

"Well Austin told us about a childhood friend coming to town and went on and on about all your adventures during your younger years. It was sickening but cute I guess," Cassidy explained.

"Yeah, he wouldn't shut up about it," Dallas added. This time Austin grew crimson and everyone saw. "But rest assured, Ally, they were all nice things."

"Ok you guys, I think Austin had enough of the embarrassment spotlight," Ally smiled.

"You want next?" Trish smirked.

Ally glared at her friend.

"Just kidding," Trish joked.

For the rest of the night, the gang enjoyed the music, the dancing and the food. Ally well enjoyed herself, actually let loose and relaxed. At one point in the night, Dez, Trish, Dallas and Cassidy crowded around a table while Dez brought out his tablet for them to watch a behind the scenes look of a Zalien movie. Ally took this time to herself and sat a good distance from the crowd. Austin spotted her and although she wanted to be alone, she was obviously not annoyed by his company.

"This seat taken?" he gestured towards an empty spot of the bench.

"No, be my guest," she offered.

"So, you liking it so far?"

"Yeah, it's really home-y here. It's… nice."

"Well, we're very home-oriented people around here. Well, most of us."

"Most?"

"Mhm," he simply nodded.

She decided not to ask. When the time came, he would talk about everything.

"So Dallas and Cassidy. Are they locals here?"

"Yeah. When I moved here they were the only ones around my age so we became friends. Went to the same high school, that's how we met."

"So what happened to the rest of the kids in your class?"

"Left Dawson the second they got the chance to. Dallas and Cassidy. They love this place too much to leave. They want to settle down here. Frankly, I don't know if that meant together or separately. I question their relationship sometimes," he chuckled.

"Oh, they're dating?"

"No, but they should be. Except Dallas always claims that Cassidy likes me or something."

"Does she?"

"_Like,_ like? No. But she does joke about my looks all the time," he joked.

"Oh," she said a little too eagerly. "Well who couldn't like you, you're awesome," Ally blurted. She caught what she had just said and froze. Austin slightly blushed, flattered by what she said.

"Thanks. Besides, I don't think my girlfriend would have liked me hanging around Cassidy if she like me," he added.

"Oh," she said, this time dejectedly. "And where's your girlfriend tonight?"

"Out of town. She's trying so hard to leave this place that she's always venturing off some place."

"Well, she's missing out. It's a beautiful night tonight," Ally mustered a smile. _Of course he has a girlfriend, why wouldn't he?! _Ally thought. _Then why am I bummed out?_

"It sure is," Austin smiled. "So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Has Dez ever liked you or something?"

"Oh God no. At least I hope… Well I don't know. But I'm sure it's a no."

"What?" he chuckled sheepishly.

"Well, for one thing, I have boyfriend."

"Oh," Austin said. Ally couldn't figure out what type of 'oh' that was.

"And well, I kind of lost touch with Dez and Trish for a while since I started dating Ethan."

"Why'd you lose touch? You guys seem like close friends."

"We are – or, were. I don't know. It's just, Ethan and I are from two different cliques. Trish and Dez were cooler than me, or at least people knew them. I was a wallflower. And Ethan, well he's the captain of the basketball team. He's popular."

"Popular, aye?" he quipped an eyebrow.

"It's not what you think," Ally defended.

"Does the whole school know you?" he asked.

"Well, yeah but-"

"I know it's been a few years since I went to school, but if I'm not mistaken, being a well-known person is popular," he said matter-of-factly.

"But I'm not-"

"How's everyone doing tonight?" a spokesperson of the town was on stage, interrupting everyone's conversations. The crowd cheered.

"Well I'll tell you one thing folks, your night is going to get better. Because with us tonight is a very important person to the town of Dawson."

"Oh no," Ally muttered.

"That's right, Lester Dawson's daughter. Ally Dawson! Ally, dear, come up here and say hello!"

Cassidy and Dallas were a bit shocked, looking towards Ally's direction. Trish, Dez, and Austin almost forgot Ally was a very popular person in town. Ally blushed but was a bit torn in what to do. Getting up on stage would prove to Austin that she was somewhat popular. Though she didn't want any of the attention she got. But not going up would make her seem snobby, and she already felt that Austin thought she was a high maintenance person. Grudgingly, she sighed and stood up.

"Duty calls," Ally said.

"Ms. Dawson," Austin tipped his hat and gestured for her to walk up to the stage to greet the townspeople.

* * *

Later that night, Trish and Dez were hanging out in Ally's room. Dez was flipping through some channels, Trish was reading a magazine and Ally was looking out the window.

"Hey Alls, have fun tonight?" Trish grew bored of her magazine and decided to talk to her friend.

"Yeah it was fun," she smiled.

"So, what were you and Austin talking about?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Girl, you two were secluded from everyone. Now spill."

"We talked about Cassidy and Dallas pretty much. How they met and all."

"Dude, those two are so awesome!" Dez yelled from the TV.

"Yeah they are. So that was it?" Trish asked.

"Well we did talk about relationships too before I had to go on stage."

"Relationships? Ooh-la-laa!" Trish clapped her hands.

"It's not what you think, Trish," Ally rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Sure it's not," Trish wasn't convinced.

"But you can't lie and say you don't think he's at least cute," Dez said.

Trish shot Dez a confused look.

"What? Can't a guy check another guy out without being accused of anything?" he defended.

"Well, even Dez thinks he's good-looking," Trish chuckled.

"Fine, fine. I admit, he's… handsome," Ally said, "but he's got a girlfriend."

"Oh," Trish and Dez said like they were disappointed.

"Yes, 'oh'. But it's all good you guys. We're friends."

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Chile," Trish joked.

"Look, I have a boyfriend too. Let's not forget Ethan."

"We were trying to," Dez mumbled.

"What?" Ally caught it.

Dez and Trish sighed. They might as well talk it out.

"We don't think you and Ethan belong together," Dez said.

"He may have helped you out socially, but he's no good for you Alls. You deserve way better," Trish admitted.

Ally remained silent.

"Look, I know we haven't really kept in touch with you because well, we aren't exactly popular crowd material," Dez said.

"But we know you, and we still care about you, Ally," Trish finished. "We're sorry though if we overstepped."

"N-no," Ally finally said. "You're right."

"We are?" Dez said.

"Of course we are," Trish smacked his arm. Ally laughed.

"Oh you guys! To be honest, I never really felt anything more for Ethan than the first time he noticed me. I guess, I was just trying to make the relationship work, really. And please believe me when I say it had nothing to do with the popularity."

"Of course we believe you, Ally. You never really talked anyways even with them," Trish said.

"Yeah. The only difference we saw was your wardrobe and… well you were a bit dependent on beauty products and beauty sleep and all that girly junk," Dez said.

"Oh gosh, I hope I'm not high maintenance."

"Not necessarily. But the Ally we know didn't really care for anything else but basic hygiene and dressing comfortably. Then again, girls grow up and we do rely on more things to maintain our health," Trish reasoned.  
"Well thanks. Anyways, back to Ethan. I'm thinking of taking a break with him. At least for the summer just to see if we really are going to last."

"Just break up with him," Dez said. "He's a tool."

"Duly noted, Dez," Ally said as she picked up her phone to call her boyfriend. To think that he would try to check up on her, Ally knew he wouldn't. After almost every dial tone before the voicemail, Ethan finally answered.

_"Hey Babe!"_

_"Ethan, hi!"_

_"How's it going in Minnesota? Bored to death yet? Wanna commit suicide?"_

_"No, of course not. I would never do that."_

_"It's just an expression, Ally."_

_"Well it's not so bad here. Like I told you, at least I'm not alone since Trish and Dez came with."_

_"Right, the losers."_

_"Ethan…"_

_"Don't tell me you're going soft for them."_

_"I need someone to talk to this summer since my boyfriend is too busy having fun," she half-sarcastically said._

_"Fine, whatever. Just as long as you keep yourself busy I guess."_

_"So how's it going with you?"_

_"Oh I'm having so much fun. Trent had 3 parties in a row. Brooke and I of course were in attendance. We've been spending the night at Trent's lake house with him."_

_"You and Brooke?"_

_"Yeah, the three of us are there. But most of the time he's hung over and I don't want to leave Brooke to handle him so I stay over."_

_"Oh ok. Look, Ethan we need to talk…"_

_"Yeah hey can we talk later, babe? Trent just came back from the store. We're having our fourth party in a row tonight. Trying to do a whole week!"_

_"Okay, I'll call you later."_

_"Alright cool. Later!"_

_"B-"_

_*click*_

Before she could say a full goodbye, he hung up.

"Got cut off?" Dez asked. Ally nodded, placing her phone on the bed. "Told you. Jerk."

"Ally, call him back and don't hang up until you tell him you want to take a break," Trish demanded handing her phone back.

Ally was hesitant at first, always giving people the benefit of the doubt. But even her own voice inside was telling her Ethan wasn't enough. So she redialed his number.

"Put it in speaker," Trish suggested. Ally obliged. It wasn't really personal anymore so she didn't mind letting them in on the conversation.

_"Hello?"_

_"Brooke?"_

Trish and Dez mouthed to each other "Brooke?"

_"Oh hey Alls! How's Texas? Wait, let me put you on speaker."_

_"I'm in Minnesota, Brooke." _

Trish and Dez sported 'are you kidding me?' looks on their faces and Ally rolled her eyes nodding_._

_"Oh, right. Anyways, what's up?"_

_"Is Ethan around?"_

_"Yeah, he's helping Trent bring the keg to the back. Girl, this lake house is sick! Too bad you aren't here."_

_"Yeah, too bad. But I don't drink, remember?"_

_"Still, it's probably more fun than Montana."_

_"Minnesota."_

_"Whatever."_

_"Look Brooke, I really need to talk to Ethan. Can you give him the phone."_

_"Ok. ETHAN! Oh Trent! Can you call Ethan for me please?"_

*In the background* _"Sure thing. Yo Ethan! You're girl wants you!"_

"How does Trent know I'm the one who called?" she covered the phone and whispered to Trish and Dez. The two shrugged, not knowing how he knew either.

*Ethan in the background* _"Hey sexy, want another kiss or something?"_

_"No, E-t-than." Brooke said through gritted teeth on her end._

_"What?!" _Trish whisper yelled. Dez quickly covered her mouth before Trish began to yell.

_"This is intense!" _Dez whispered aloud. But Ally wasn't having any fun.

_"Aw you didn't say that last night. Trying to play hard to get?" Ethan chuckled in the background. "Who's on the phone, baby?"_ he asked.

_"Ally, you're EX-Girlfriend,"_ Ally sternly answered.

_"Oh shit. Hey Ally."_

_"Fuck off, Ethan."_

_"Ally don't be like that."_

_"We're over."_

_"Oh and I'm scared," _he feigned hurt._ "You're a nobody without me."_

_"I'd rather be a nobody than a cheater."_

_"Don't be so dramatic, babe."_

_"I'm not your babe anymore. _

_"Come on, Ally. Can't we talk about this?"_

_"There's nothing to talk about. We're over. Goodbye."_

_*click*_


	5. Chapter 5

"Ally? You ok?" Trish asked. Hearing Ally curse, something she never did, meant serious things.

"You guys were right. He's no good," she shrugged. "He cheated on me with Brooke."

"Oh," was all they could say.

"It's fine you guys, I'm fine. Like you said, we were never really meant to be together," she said with a brave face.

"So, you're not mad or sad or going crazy?" Dez wondered.

"Of course I'm angry, but I'm more… relieved you know? Like I can finally breathe." For the first time that night, Ally smiled. And it was genuine.

"Good for you, Ally," Trish said.

"Thanks. But, if you guys don't mind, it's been a long day. I want to sleep this off."

"No problem. Goodnight, Ally." Dez and Trish retired for the night.

Ally stayed sitting near the window looking out at the moon and anything else in the pasture. She couldn't sleep. Moments later, Austin was dropped off by Dallas and Cassidy to the front of the house. It appeared that his pick-up truck was left in their driveway. As they drove off, Austin lingered for a moment. He looked at his pick up, but decided to hang on before driving off somewhere. He leaned his back to the side of his truck and just looked up at the sky.

Ally watched him the entire time doing basically nothing, but he seemed content. She decided since she was alone and he was alone, that maybe they would be good company to one another. Grabbing a jacket and her phone, she tiptoed down to the front door and stepped outside. The after midnight breeze smacked Ally in the face, sending a shiver down her spine. She didn't know it'd be this cold in Minnesota. After getting used to the cold, she made her way over to Austin. She leaned on his truck, mimicking his position and stared at the sky.

"You're out late," she spoke up.

"I should be saying the same thing to you," he chuckled. "Have fun tonight?"

"At the gathering? Yeah, I did."

"What about the rest of the night?" He turned to face her. She was looking straight at the moon, not daring to meet eyes with him.

"You ever wonder how many people look at the moon at once?" she asked out of the blue.

"Sometimes," he replied. "And sometimes I wonder if specific people are looking at the moon the same time I am."

"Like your girlfriend?" Ally said.

He half nodded. More like shrugged. "And other people. What about you?"

"Sure I guess. Like if my dad's looking at the moon right now too. But I doubt it. He has no time for anything but money."

"What about your boyfriend?" he asked.

She fell silent again. _Bingo_, Austin thought. _It's about the boyfriend._

"So… about that driving lesson," he suggested.

* * *

"No, no, Ally, you have to let go of the gas pedal before you switch gears on the other pedal," Austin tried to explain.

The truck made a rusty noise as Ally attempted to switch gears.

"It's stuck again, Austin. We're going to stall," she complained.

"Just relax, Ally. You got this," he said calmly.

But he spoke too soon. The truck stalled in the middle of the road.

"Ugh, damn this is the third time already," she was frustrated.

"Ally, don't be so hard on yourself, you're trying," Austin encouraged. "Look at it this way. You tried, messed up, tried again and messed up. Now that you know what not to do, you can do what you're supposed to do."

"But what am I supposed to do?" she asked, burying her face on the steering wheel. Austin saw she was visibly upset.

"Well, uh, do you have any hobbies?"

"I like to write."

"Hm, that's kind of vague. Anything else?"

"Uh.. I like music?"

"Ok can you play an instrument?"

"Piano and guitar, but mostly piano."

"Oh nice. I play guitar."

Ally looked up, waiting for him to get to his point.

"Anyway, well with piano, you've got to have that hand-eye coordination. You're multitasking. When you read sheet music, you're not only working your hands, you're working your feet, your mind, but most importantly your core."

"Isn't your mind like the core?" she asked.

"Sure I guess. But the mind is just processing what you read on the sheet music and sending instructions to the appropriate function of your body. But your core, that's what the music speaks to. By a few bars, you'll already get a sense of the melody and rhythm, you're core will work faster than your mind and the music will flow naturally."

"Wow. That's… really insightful," she realized.

"Now when you're driving, you're mind will send instructions to the rest of your body, but you'll know the speed, the capabilities and the distance to go ahead of time because you'll know and understand the vehicle and the road. Driving automatic that's easy. Driving manually, it's a bit more work, but it's the same thing."

"Ok, I think I get it. So I just need to focus on what's in front of me and make sure I execute it well."

"Sure. But in simpler terms, just trust yourself," he chuckled.

"Trust myself. Got it."

"Alright, you want to try it again?" he asked.

"Ok," she nodded.

Ally started the truck once again. She shifted to first gear and they were off. So far so good. She easily shifted to second, then third, and when he asked her to stop, shifting to neutral came almost natural to her. Speeding up again, Ally was finally driving at ease.

"Austin, I'm doing it! I'm driving stick!" she cheered.

"See, I knew you could do it," he said excitedly.

"Well thanks, you're a great teacher," she smiled at him.

"Hey, you want to go somewhere?" he suggested.

"Sure. Where?"

"Just a spot. Turn left up ahead."

They reached a green pasture just on the side of the main road and Austin gestured for her to drive on the grass. He told her to park near an old tree and she killed the ignition. Stepping out, he walked to the tree and settled down like it was a familiar seat.

"Where are we?" Ally looked around.

"Just outside the road. Sometimes I come here to think. This tree and I go a long way back. Ok like 5 years," he chuckled.

"Do you think the tree minds if I take a seat beside you?"

"No, not at all," he patted the space beside him. She took a seat and got comfortable.

"It's nice. Very peaceful here."

"Exactly. I'm telling you, it's the simple things."

They stared out into the sky. It was becoming grey, meaning the morning would come soon.

"Thanks for teaching me to drive stick."

"Sure. I mean, for a first timer, you are a natural now."

"Uh that wasn't my first time driving stick."

"Really? So you were much more horrible than that?" he joked.

"Hurtful!" she hit his arm. "Well, Ethan tried teaching me one time, but he ended up getting angry at me and never taught me again."

"Oh," Austin knew something was up.

"But, for the record, you were a much better teacher. And you're patient with me, which I really appreciate."

"I just wanted to distract you that's all. You may be going through some things and you have a way to hide it, but I don't know, Ally. I don't think you could fool me," he smirked.

"No? Then what do you think happened?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I have a feeling it has to do with the boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend," she corrected him.

They both fell silent.

"After you left for Florida, I was so determined to leave St. Paul too. All my friends left and you, my last friend, moved to a different state. What was left for me there? I spent middle school and my first year of high school in Minneapolis but after arguing with my parents one day that I didn't belong in the city or wasn't cut out for it, they agreed that I wouldn't be happy if I stayed. So they called Lisa, since she knew your aunt through those times she'd visit the city, and asked her to watch over me if I moved to Dawson. It wasn't much, but at least I got out of the city. Once I turned 18 and finished school, I got my own place and started working to make a living. It's obviously not the path I wanted career wise, but personally, I belonged in the small town."

"What about the small town life do you like?" she asked.

"Well for one thing, it's a great story to tell a woman," he joked. She laughed.

"Look at this place. It may not have many hills or mountains, but it's simple, it's peaceful and it's beautiful. I just fell in love with the place. And well, when you love something you don't ever want to leave it behind."

Ally smiled. It was so poetic how Austin explained. She knew those words would stay with her as inspiration for something else.

"And your parents? Where are they now?"

Austin sighed but continued. "I'd like to think they're in a better place right now."

Ally knew where this was going.

"My mom became depressed for a while and eventually grew ill and passed away. My dad never left her side. He was so heartbroken when she left that he did drugs, got drunk, you know the whole ordeal. It was to numb the pain of losing his wife. I guess you could say it was romantic in a sense that he didn't sleep with other women or thought about remarrying. But he OD'd one night and that was the end of him. I had an inkling that a part of her depression was because I left."

"Austin," Ally tried comforting him.

"I loved my parents, you know that. I just wasn't cut out for the life they wanted me to have. That was my reason for leaving. I would have loved for them to live here with me, but they were city folk and I'm a small town boy."

"You know it's not your fault, right?"

"No, I know that, Ally. I guess it's just easy to blame myself instead of not knowing who to blame."

"Austin, look at me," she had him turn to face her. "You are a good person with a good heart. Don't think anything else. Your parents would have been proud of the man you're becoming. I know because I am."

"But is this all I really have to live for?"

"What did I say? Becoming. Not become. You still haven't gotten there yet. But you're working on it. And like you told me, if this isn't what you want to settle with, then make a new goal. What do you want?"

"To be happy," he simply stated. She couldn't help but smile at his answer. It was simple and very good.

"And how will you get there?"

"My mom always wanted me to go to college, but obviously that's not in my cards right now. I'm not sure if I even want to go. And my dad always told me to find the right girl and marry her."

"But those are what your parents want."

"And I owe a lot to them."

"But is it what you want?" she questioned.

He thought for a moment. "Yeah. At least with my dad's wish. For my mom, so long as I make life a learning experience, I think I can promise her that."

"Then if that makes you happy, keep that in mind. You have a purpose, and it's not to blame yourself for your parents' death."

"Wow Ally, are you a therapist?" Austin chuckled.

"No, why?" she giggled.

"Because you made me feel so much better," he smiled. "Thank you."

"Well it's the least I can do. You're teaching me to chill, so I'll teach you to dream," she smiled.

"No wonder why you're a writer," he smirked. "You're too smart."

After a while, Ally felt that it was only fair to share something with Austin.

"He cheated on me." She turned to him because she knew he was staring. "With a friend. But I'm ok with it. I think."

"You are? Because I'd be furious," he was confused. So she started further back.

"Trish and Dez were the first friends I made when I moved to Miami. We clicked. It's just I was very awkward and shy, only talking to Trish and Dez and never really put myself out there. They weren't part of this popular clique, but they were still somebody's, you know? I was in journalism and theater, but only worked stage crew, Trish was in the debate team, and Dez was in the A/V club. Sophomore year Trish decided to help out at the spring play since Dez and I would usually work together. She accidentally sent the lead girl to the hospital. Me being the nerd I was knew her lines so I was put under the spotlight. I did well. Ethan was the other lead and he finally noticed me. We started dating and eventually I got sucked into his world, leaving my friends behind. It was the worst decision I ever made. I thought about them all the time, but I never did anything. I wasn't snobby, I wasn't a slut, and I really didn't like the attention per se, but I did like being noticed. Ethan wasn't the best boyfriend, but he noticed me and for once I wasn't a wallflower. Why he stayed with me for so long is still a mystery to me, but he stuck with me. Even when it was hard I tried making it work because I didn't want to be invisible anymore. But I'm not like Brooke or any other popular girl. I'm nice. And that's a crime."

"Since when was being nice a crime?" Austin wondered.

"We were pulling a senior prank, the entire class, and Ethan's plan went awry. I didn't want any damages so I tried fixing it myself. He ran off and out of nowhere, Trish and Dez came to help me. Only we got caught and all our parents sent us here for punishment."

"Oh, so that's why you're here," Austin gathered. "Ally Dawson, a trouble maker," he smirked.

"I know this was a punishment, but I guess it was a blessing. I was reunited with my best friends again, and I got to see you again," she said the last part softly, but Austin heard it.

"Ally, you are far from invisible. Don't let this Ethan guy think otherwise."

"I'm not sad or mad that I'm not with Ethan anymore. I'm just scared that I might fall back into the shadows and no one will see me anymore, or no guy will love me."

"I see you," Austin stated. He stared into her eyes. A brief flick of gold shined but went away all too soon. "And you don't deserve to be loved by Ethan. You deserve to be loved by someone who really cares about you and sees you for more than someone who has the spotlight."

"Ethan never said 'I love you' officially, but he would always argue that I'd be throwing our love away if we broke up. It really was just a popularity thing. Since I was the golden theater girl, he needed to have me."

"Well now he doesn't have you and he's going to die alone."

"Oh Austin," Ally laughed.

"Just don't be sad. A pretty face like yours doesn't look good with a frown."

Ally giggled and flashed a half smile at him.

"Come on, you can do better than that," he encouraged.

"I'm supposed to be comforting you, not the other way around," she sighed.

"Well we're both comforting each other. And no need to comfort me. That was in the past," he brushed off.

"Ethan's in the past too."

"And he should stay there."

"Right. I mean, an 'ex' is an 'ex' for a reason, right?" she asked him.

"An 'ex' is and 'ex'ample of someone you're not supposed to be with."

The smile behind Ally's expression to Austin's remark had two reasons: he was being very thoughtful and the nerd inside of her was a sucker for corny smart jokes.

"'Ex'actly," she giggled.

"There's that smile!" Austin cheered like he made a touchdown or something. "And that was a horrible joke," he laughed along.

After a while, Ally noticed that the sun was creeping its way above the horizon. They had talked all night about anything and everything.

"Wow, it's almost 6 AM," she checked her phone.

"We should head back before anyone thinks we're missing or something," he got up.

"Do people go missing all the time here?" Ally grew worried.

"In Dawson, Minnesota? The worse thing that happens around here is a shortage of pie," he chuckled. "No, you're safe here. That's why I wasn't scared to hear footsteps when you were creeping up on me in front of your aunt's house."

"Hey," she whacked his arm, "I wasn't creeping up on you. I saw you through my window just standing there so I decided to give you some company."

"So you were admiring me from afar?" he kidded.

Ally's eyes widened. "N-no I wasn't! I was already looking outside my window even before you were dropped off."

"Sure Ally, whatever you say," he joked. "Want to drive back?"

"Yeah. Let's see if I remember what you taught me."

Ally remembered everything Austin taught her about driving stick, though she did drive a tad slower than regular speed to be cautious. It was fine since barely any cars went their way and it was still quite early in the morning.

When they made it back to her aunt's house, her uncle George was getting some tools out of the shed and spotted them.

"Good morning you two," he smugly greeted. "Up early or stayed out late?"

The two felt like they were caught red handed. Though Ally didn't understand why she grew nervous when she really didn't do anything with Austin. Still, she didn't feel like sharing her night with anyone but the blonde boy standing beside her.

"I-I asked Austin to teach me to drive stick so we agreed to meet early in the morning so there wouldn't be any cars around."

"Was she any good?" Uncle George asked Austin.

"She's a natural," Austin said.

"Good," he smiled.

"Well, we don't have to do much for a few hours so why don't you kids eat breakfast or get some rest 'til then?"

"Sure thing, George. I'll be back around 9. See ya, Ally." With that, Austin got into his truck and drove off.

Uncle George stood next to Ally while she waited for his figure to be completely out of sight.

"Good kid, that Austin is," he said.

"Yeah. He's nice," Ally said awkwardly.

"And darn good looking if you ask me," Uncle George smirked. Ally caught on and tried her best not to blush.

"I'm going inside, uncle George."

Ally walked in as aunt Lisa stepped outside.

"Morning sweetheart. You're up early."

"Yeah, but I'm going inside to rest a bit before we do stuff," Ally made a beeline to the stairs.

"Alright. Breakfast will be done in about an hour or so."

Lisa walked up to George as he was smiling at his niece's antics.

"Why are you smiling?" Lisa asked her husband.

"Oh to be young again," George laughed.

"Let me guess, Austin?"

The adults laughed as they had a feeling something was going on between the two.

Ally crept back into her room, only to have a knock at her door a few seconds later.

"Ally! Wow I didn't know you'd be awake. Knocking on your door was a long shot."

"Morning Trish. Why are you up so early?"

"Well I fell asleep almost instantly last night and I got my 8 hours. Might as well not waste it lying in bed. Wanna go help your aunt make breakfast?"

"Uh, you go ahead. I'm going to take a shower first and I'll meet you down there. And can you make coffee too?"

"Sure thing. See you in a bit."

_Well I guess no sleep today,_ Ally thought to herself. But losing sleep in place of talking to Austin all night was definitely worth it.

Twenty minutes later, Ally and Dez emerged from the stairs to join Trish and her aunt at the kitchen table.

"Morning Dez," Trish and Aunt Lisa said.

"Ladies," he said before grabbing a cup of coffee. Ally followed suit and basically downed her first cup before refilling.

"Sleep well?" Dez asked Ally.

"Yeah, I'm just tired that's all," Ally said before sipping her coffee again, this time slowly.

"Did you kids have fun last night?"

"I know Ally did," Trish joked. But she didn't know half the story.

"Shut up," she swatted her friend's arm.

"Did we catch flies again?" Uncle George said as he stepped inside the kitchen to wash his hands.

"No, Trish is just being Trish," Ally said.

"That reminds me," Aunt Lisa played along, "Ally, a little birdie told me you were out with Austin earlier."

Dez choked on his coffee and Trish grew wide-eyed.

"YOU WHAT?!" Ally could have sworn Trish's eyes were about to pop out of her head.

"Uncle George!" Ally glared at him.

"Bye," he tipped his hat and ran outside.

"Austin was teaching Ally to drive the truck," aunt Lisa told the two.

"But why did you two meet so early?" Dez asked.

"Because… we didn't want to risk me crashing into any cars." She hoped they'd buy it.

"Makes sense," he replied. They bought it.

"So what are we doing today?" Trish asked. Ally let go of the breath she held in. She was glad Trish changed the subject.

"You kids are working on deliveries today."

"Deliveries?" Dez asked.

"For my diner," aunt Lisa finished.

"My aunt Lisa technically is in charge of this town in place of my dad since she is the closest blood to him that lives here, but she has a business of her own. Unlike my dad, she likes to earn her living," Ally smiled, admiring her aunt more than anyone.

"Thank you, pumpkin," aunt Lisa kissed the top of Ally's head. "George is picking up some shipments for inventory at the diner. Austin usually helps out with the deliveries to make the job go faster. With you kids helping, he can finish early and you guys can do some of the things on uncle George's list."

"What does uncle George need help with?" Ally asked, sipping on her second cup of coffee.

"Things around the town or the yard. We've been trying our best to maintain the place because the town is losing money. They want to make use of the land but we don't want to turn into an urban town."

"No I hear you. The city life is all over the place. This little town is beautiful. Even though there aren't many things to do," Trish stated.

"Thanks, Trish. But as great as that sounds, it's a bit more complicated than that."

"What do you mean?" Ally asked.

Once again, her question went unanswered when her uncle called for them to finish up.

Austin showed up around nine and the five of them drove off into town. By the time they reached the diner, there were already shipments out back. George had Ally and Trish unload and check for inventory while he, Austin and Dez made deliveries. He entrusted Ally with one of the trucks since Austin taught her to drive, to drive the harder to carry boxes to the front of the diner and back for easier lifting. By lunch, Lisa came to the diner, made some food for them, and they proceeded to do the things on George's list.

Trish naturally bugged Ally every second she could about her lesson with Austin and Ally simply rubbed it off. Dez tried once to bring up something to Austin, but even he shrugged it off. Ally never asked him to keep it a secret, but she secretly hoped he would. There was a terrible storm a few weeks back and a neighborhood's yards were harmed by fallen trees. They spent the day with other workers picking up debris and cleaning the yards. These were the things aunt Lisa explained to the teenagers that they just do their part and help out in the community. From time to time, George would check up on them because he started on another end of the block. Lisa came by at dinnertime. She stayed with them until they left since it would be soon after dinner. The four of them ate their desserts on the front porch while George and Lisa stayed inside. Ally was showing signs of weariness, as did Austin. Of course, it made sense since they worked all day, but Trish and Dez were merely exhausted, not really tired.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Ally said.

"But it's only 7:30," Trish pointed out.

"Yeah, but all that work really wiped me out tonight."

"Alright, well goodnight, Alls."

"Goodnight."

"See ya."

"Bye guys," Ally said.

"I think I'm going to head home too. It's been a really long day. See you guys," Austin said his goodbyes and drove off.

"And you'd think the city kids would get tired before the country boy," Dez laughed.

"Well, he was up early with Ally today," Trish pointed out.

"Yeah, 'early'," Dez air quoted.

"What do you mean by 'early'?" Trish mimicked his fingers.

"It's obvious Ally has a petty crush on him or that she thinks he's cute. I mean she practically told us."

"Right. And?"

"I know she's popular but not the traditional stuck up, high maintenance diva, but Ally is a woman and all women are the same."

"There better be a point to this, Dez."

"By the same I mean, when it comes to guys, especially ones they are attracted to, any girl, whether it be Ally or Natalie Portman, will do something extra to get herself noticed. Dress a little differently, talk a little differently, act differently, eat diff-"

"Dez," Trish was getting impatient. "I get it. But you know Ally. She really isn't the type to impress. She's a grown woman now and she wants to keep her youth in her skin, but she's not one to throw herself out there so much."

"No I know that, Trish. But remember when she woke up yesterday and was totally embarrassed to have Austin see her before she got dressed up?"

"Yeah?"

"I know Ally doesn't wear seductive clothing, but she is presentable. And this morning, did you notice what she was wearing?"

"Yeah. A cute top and some yoga pants."

"I saw her too, before she went into the shower. That's what she wore to bed or at least the last thing she wore when we saw her in her room."

"So… what are you saying?" Trish knew he was on to something. She could feel it.

"Don't you think if Ally asked Austin to teach her to drive in the morning that she would have gotten a little dressed up before seeing him? At least change her yoga pants into jeans?"

Trish finally caught on. "SHE STAYED OUT ALL NIGHT WITH HIM!"

"Bingo! Gosh and I thought I was the slow one," he chuckled.

Trish ignored his comment as she was caught up with their discovery.

"So he probably came over and they stayed out all night. Dez, I walked into her room like after six. That's a really long time to stay out."

"Scandalous," Dez smiled.

"No wonder why they're both so tired," Trish figured.

"And that's probably why they avoided it all day, so no one would know."

"Yep. Well that's all in a days work. Detective Dez has made a breakthrough."

"Detective Dez?"

"Uh Yeah! I got to the bottom of it and solved the case. You can be my flunky if you'd like."

"Your what?"

"I mean partner in crime?" he suggested.

"Well, what about Austin?"

"What about Austin?"

"Do you think he likes Ally?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing yes. But he could just like her in the friend way."

"Then that's our next mission. To figure him out too!"

"Operation Austin and Ally is a go!"

"Hey that has a nice ring to it!"

"Doesn't it?!"


	6. Chapter 6

"So, Dez."

"So, Austin."

"What's up with you and Trish?" he asked the redhead one morning while making shipments.

"Me and Trish? What do you mean?" Dez asked.

"You courting her or something?" he grinned.

"Me and Trish?! HAHAHAHAHAHA," Dez fell into a fit of laughter. "NO," he finished seriously.

"I'm just saying," Austin defended, "You two have that back and forth, but a girl or guy wouldn't want to be around someone that they pick fights with so much if it didn't mean anything."

"Uh yeah dude, it's called best friends. Trish and I knew each other since we were 5. Dude we're just best friends, trust me. She's to scary to be someone I like romantically."

"Alright, alright, chill, dude. I'm just saying…"

"Uhuh, and what about you Mr. Suave?" Dez quipped an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about, bro?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Dez said. "Wait, unless I really don't know what I'm talking about…"

"Dez," Austin chuckled. "What's your point?"

"Oh!" Dez remembered. "What about with you and Ally, huh?"

"What about me and Ally?" Austin was amused.

"So you can accuse me of having feelings for my platonic female friend, and I can't make inquiries of the same thing?" Dez quipped an eyebrow.

"No because she and I are just friends, Dez," Austin chuckled. "Don't take this the wrong way, but that was very clever, dude."

"It's cool. I get that a lot," Dez said unaffected.

"Well Trish was talking to me the other day and-"

"Yeah, she tells everyone I'm an idiot," Dez told him.

"Sorry, bro," Austin tried apologizing.

"Oh, no she's right. I'm an idiot," Dez said non-chalantly. "But at least I'm not blind," he smirked.

"I have a girlfriend," he told the redhead.

"And Ally had a boyfriend. Thanks to me and Trish convincing her he was no good. Want us to take care of your problem?" Dez asked.

"Hey, hey," Austin feigned hurt. "I don't have a problem with my girlfriend, dude. Why are you guys so into Ally and me getting together? Why, did she say something?" he asked.

By this time, they got back to the diner.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, you seemed kind of eager to know if she did say something. And if you've got a girlfriend, why would you care, Mister Moon?" Dez questioned.

"You're so evil, Dez," Austin glared. "Look, Ally and I were close back then. Yeah, we may have been young, but I always wanted to protect her and I may have also had a small crush on her too. But that's over 10 years ago. I'm just glad that we're friends again."

"So you _did_ like her?" he squeaked.

"Ten years ago, Dez. Ten years ago… Why… does she, uh…"

"DEZ! Come help me lug this delivery out back!" Trish yelled from inside.

"Saved by the Trish," Dez said to Austin. "We'll talk more later."

"Wait, Dez!" Austin said before he left. "Can we uh, keep this to ourselves for now?"

"Why?" Dez wondered. Then he realized. "Oh. Right. Sure," he exaggerated a wink.

"Goodbye, Dez," Austin said through gritted teeth and a flushed face.

"Hey, you ok? You look hot," Ally came by once Dez disappeared inside.

"What?" Austin was caught off guard.

"Yeah, do you want some water or something?" she handed him her water bottle.

"Oh. _Hot_. Yeah… thanks," Austin accepted the bottle. "So what are we doing today?"

"Well my uncle and aunt need to go to city hall at lunch. Says it's an important meeting. I don't know. Probably some regular official stuff, huh?"

"Probably," Austin said. "So what are we going to do while they're away?"

"Take over the diner for my aunt."

"Of course, I knew that," he chuckled.

"Hey Austin," Dez said walking back to the truck. "I got another load of deliveries Ally's aunt made. Want to start now so we can finish early?" Then he noticed Ally's presence. "Oh. Unless you already made other plans?" he asked suggestively.

Dez knew both sides. Of course he'd take that to his advantage.

"No, I was just saying hi. Go do your deliveries, guys. See you later!" Ally said before trotting into the diner.

"Way to make things awkward, dude," Austin flicked his forehead.

"This is going to be so fun," Dez said.

* * *

George and Lisa came back to the diner after lunch, finding Ally and Trish in charge, and Austin and Dez pulling up after finishing their last delivery.

"Perfect timing, boys," George greeted them.

"Hey guys, you hungry?" Ally asked while cleaning up a table.

"Let me just grab a couple of pies from the fridge," aunt Lisa said.

Trish came out with several cups of lemonade for everyone.

"So uncle George, how was your meeting today?" Ally asked.

"It went like it always went, kiddo," he ruffled the top of her head. "I'm not really cut for this business stuff so most of the time your aunt does the talking and I just nod and agree."

"Spoken like a true gentleman," Trish said.

"You got that right," Ally high fived her best friend.

"Haha, yeah well your aunt wears the pants in this relationship," uncle George admitted.

"Yes I do," she said as she came back with pie.

"What did you guys talk about?" Ally wondered.

"Just city stuff. Your dad usually holds meetings with them through video or phone conference, then George and I hear the run down, or we'll sit in on these sessions as well. You know you're father, he just wants stern updates and whatnot so he knows how much money he still has in the bank," aunt Lisa half joked.

"That's dad for ya," Ally sarcastically replied.

"Well it's a good thing you're not like that, Alls," Dez reassured her.

"I hope not," she said.

"Everything's going to be all, sweetheart, just let the adults handle your dad."

"Thanks aunt Lisa," Ally was unsure why she even said that, but she was slightly relieved.

"So George, Dez and I were able to make the extra deliveries. Did you want us to make some more or…" Austin asked.

"I think we're done with deliveries for today, boys. What'd you have in mind we do next?"

"Well, Mr. Gibbons wanted help cutting grass on his ranch. Can I take Dez to the tractor fields to help?"

"Help or goof off?" uncle George raised an eyebrow.

"What? Psh. I don't know what you're talking about," Austin faked.

"What happened before?" Trish asked.

"For a physics project, Dallas and Austin rode on the tractor down Ron Gibbon's hill, he's got the largest farmland here. Dallas filmed it all but they really just acted like boys and almost lost control of the tractor. It was funny to them."

"Boys will be boys," aunt Lisa chuckled.

"But, they both bruised their arms so that was punishment enough," uncle George concluded.

"Wow, smooth," Ally joked.

"Har. Har. I was 17 back then, come on. Mr. Gibbons forgave me. And I've been to his ranch several times after that. Please, George?"

"Dez may be an idiot but he's pretty responsible," Trish said.

"Yeah uncle George. Austin could use a chaperone anyways," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ok fine, just be back by dinner time."

"Sweet! Let me gab my camera. That's actually not a bad idea!"

Lisa, George and Trish headed back to the kitchen to clean up, while Ally stayed behind to clean up the table. She didn't notice Austin was still there, and he caught her humming to herself.

"Whatcha humming?"

"Huh?" she was startled to have him hear her.

"That song. What's that? Sounds familiar but not really."

"Well that's because it's not a published song," she told him.

"It's not?"

"Nope, just a little melody that I came up with for a song."

"Did you write the song yourself?"

"You know you're really nosey," she stuck her tongue out.

"I'm a curious guy. Sue me," he smirked.

"Yes, I write for fun, but I don't plan to be a rock star any time soon, Austin."

"Not suggesting you become a rock star, but I'd love to hear you sing one of these days."

"Sorry," she said sing-songed.

"Oh come on. For me?"

"Nope," she shook her head.

"What about lyrics? Can I at least read those?" he begged.

She thought for a moment.

"Hmm… Well, I guess lyrics won't hurt… Fine."

"Sweet!"

"Ok don't go crazy now," she giggled.

"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" he asked.

"I don't know. Did you have anything in mind other than the usual?"

"Can I read some lyrics tonight?" he asked eagerly.

"Sure, I'll bring my song book."

"Song book? You sure you aren't a professional, Ally?" he chuckled.

"Shut up, Austin. Or I won't show you," she said.

"Alright, alright. So, tonight I'll pick you up, same time."

* * *

"Wow, these are some really good lyrics, Ally."

"Thanks, Austin."

"No seriously. They're amazing," he exclaimed.

"I guess," she blushed.

Austin was about to turn the page from her book when she snatched it from him.

"Sorry, I get pretty defensive with my songbook/journal."

"Well it's really good stuff, Ally. You should definitely finish the song and record it one day."

"Maybe, but that's not really what I want to do. I want to write, not perform."

"You've got some mad writing skills that's for sure," Austin pointed. "Where do you get the inspiration?"

"I don't know, sometimes I just think of a scenario in my head, watch a movie, or come up with something personal."

"And this song?"

"I don't know if it's about anyone really. Just a song about hope."

"Well we can sure cross out Ethan," he chuckled.

"Oh gosh, I didn't even think about Ethan when I was writing this," she giggled.

"Well whoever this 'you' person is that brings out the real Ally in the song must be awesome."

"I don't think I have a 'you' for this song. It's just a thought," she said.

"For now."

"I guess."

For the past few weeks, Austin and Ally spent their insomniac adventures together. After everyone went to bed, Ally would wait at the porch for Austin to show up. Most nights they'd drive over to his favorite tree, sit and talk until right before the sunrise. She learned about Austin growing up – pancakes were his all time favorite because his mother made some for him everyday, how Dallas and Cassidy were the only nice kids to the 'new kid' when he moved to Dawson, how he met his current girlfriend, Kira, and that he has a very childlike personality when you give him the chance. In turn, he learned about Ally – her tough love relationship with her father, her love for writing, the entire story of Ethan and becoming popular (but not really). She was able to be herself around him and she would notice how he would lighten up around her and be a very goofy guy. Trish and Dez had a feeling something was going on between the two, but even they had no clue of their late night rendezvous. It has come across Ally's mind sometimes that she felt that they were being so secretive about it when really all they did was talk. But neither Austin nor Ally felt it was needed to ever bring it up or tell anyone, and she wasn't going to change that any time soon.

One particular evening Ally was having trouble getting away from her aunt and uncle at the dinner table. Dez found out that Ally's uncle used to be a tech genius in his school days so the two went at it at the dinner table. Aunt Lisa was so excited that she jumped in on the conversation, as did Trish. Ally was only half-listening knowing that she and Austin were supposed to meet in less than an hour. But she didn't want to be rude and leave, it would be too suspicious.

"So wait, you tore apart and built your own computer in 10 minutes flat?!" the redhead was amazed.

"Sure did. And mind you this was back in the 70's my boy."

"Dez, can't you build a computer faster than that though?" Trish said.

"How fast does it take you?" Uncle George asked.

"Six minutes and forty three seconds is my best time."

"Oh wow, Dez. You are fast!" Aunt Lisa exclaimed.

"Yeah but that's easy with the stuff we have today. It's just as good as when you did it back in the day in juts 10 minutes! That's impressive."

"Thanks, Dez!" Uncle George chuckled.

"Yeah computers, fun," Ally said. Aunt Lisa, Uncle George and Dez didn't catch the sarcasm, but Trish did. "I'm going to get the pie."

"Great! I'm going to go out back to get some more logs for the fire," Uncle George said as he got up and left.

Ally got up and headed for the kitchen, Trish following closely behind.

"Hey Alls," Trish said when it was just the two of them.

"Oh hey Trish, what's up?"

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know, you juts seemed uninterested at the dinner table. Maybe there's something on your mind?"

"Well computers isn't really a hot topic for me so I couldn't find interest in what you guys were talking about," she chuckled. Trish did too.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. You know Dez and his tech stuff."

"Yeah, I almost forgot he was a genius at that."

Still, Trish wasn't convinced. "Are you sure everything's ok?"

"Yeah, Trish. Seriously I'm fine, just uninterested in computers," she giggled.

As the girls made their way back to the dinner table, uncle George stepped back inside, this time with a visitor.

"Hey everybody, look who I found outside!"

"Austin! Hey man," Dez high fived him.

Ally grew wide-eyed, and Trish certainly noticed, even though she really didn't have any idea why.

"Looks like the dinner table got a bit more interesting, huh Ally?" she smirked at her friend.

"You have no idea," she said to herself.

"What are you doing out this late?" Aunt Lisa wondered.

"Oh, uhh… I uh was out with Dallas and Cassidy, and we were nearby. Thought I'd drop by to say hi before I head home," he said.

Ally glanced at Austin and he met her gaze. They both knew the situation and smirked at one another.

"Well, you came just in time, boy. the girls came out with the dessert. Grab a chair, Austin. Let's have some pie!" Uncle George insisted.

For the rest of the night, the six sat at the table and enjoyed their desserts, nothing really changing in the conversation except Austin joined in on the tech stuff. Ally still wasn't interested, but tried her best not to cause attention. From time to time, Austin did glance at Ally, sending her a goofy grin, or simply having her catch him staring. No one noticed (thank goodness) that Ally would turn a little pink whenever they made eye contact.

"Thanks for letting me drop by for dessert, Lisa."

"Any time, Austin. You know you're always welcome here," Aunt Lisa said.

"Goodnight everyone!" he waved stepping outside. Dez walked Austin out while everyone else got ready for bed. It was past midnight, everyone lost track of time during that conversation.

"So Austin, now that it's just the guys, tell me the truth," Dez said as they reached Austin's truck.

"Tell the truth about what?" Austin was confused.

"Uh duh, why you really came over. Were you here to see someone specific, hmmm?" Dez wiggled his eyebrows.

"Shut up, man. I was here to just drop by. I wasn't here to see Ally or anything."

"So you admit, it's Ally," Dez smirked.

"Admit what? I said I was here to drop by!" Austin defended.

"Yeah, but you said 'Ally' all by yourself, man," Dez raised his arms in victory.

"Whatever," Austin scoffed, trying to hide his blush.

"Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Dez said.

"Then what are you saying-"

"Hey guys!" Ally said walking out to the front.

Dez shot Austin an evil smirk, and the blonde grew nervous.

"Sup, Ally. What are you doing out? I thought you were tired," Dez was enjoying this awkwardness he was creating.

"I um…" Ally began. "Aunt Lisa asked if anyone wanted the left over pie. If not she's just going to throw it out."

"What?! And waste a perfectly good pie?! Not on my watch!" Dez made a beeline to the kitchen door.

"Good one," Austin chuckled at Ally.

"Dez loves pie. Just remember that. Pizza pie, chicken pot pie, and of course blueberry pie," Ally told him.

"Duly noted."

"Sorry about tonight," she said.

"Nah, it's alright. We both couldn't get out of it."

"So what happened exactly?"

"I pulled up to the front at the same time George went out to get wood. Couldn't pretend I was invisible so I made that up."

"Nice save."

"Thanks," he chuckled, leaning on his truck. "Besides, there's always tomorrow night."

"Yes there is," Ally said, mimicking his actions.

"Then again…"

"Then again what?" Ally asked.

"Dez seems to have this crazy idea about us, and I bet Trish does too. They might figure out sooner or later about our late night adventures."

"I wouldn't necessarily call bumming around next to a tree an adventure, Austin," Ally giggled.

"You know what I mean," he chuckled.

"Maybe we should invite the others along. You know, I'll invite Dez and Trish, and you can invite Dallas and Cassidy. Besides, Dez has been bugging me about Zaliens, which I couldn't care less about."

"Not a bad idea," Austin agreed. "But…"

"What?"

"They don't really need to know about the tree, do they? I mean, not even my friends know about my thinking spot."

Ally smiled at him. "Of course not, Austin. I'm just glad you trust me enough to show me your tree."

"Well from now on, we can share the thinking spot," he flashed a smiled.

"I'd like that," she returned it, glad the moonlight wasn't bright enough to reveal her growing blush.

For the next several nights, Austin and Ally invited their friends to hangout. One night they stayed late at the diner to hangout, the other night was all about Zaliens, to Ally's dismay. Though she didn't mind because for a good hour, she and Austin chatted in the kitchen while the four friends were continuing their Zaliens marathon in Aunt Lisa's living room. Another night, Austin and friends took the city kids into town to explore the nightlife. And the last night, the girls had a sleep over at Ally's while Dez spent the night at Dallas' with Austin. Trish hoped to get something out of Ally, as did Dez with Austin, but neither one 'fessed up. Not that there was something to talk about anyhow. The only thing they laid down to their friends were that the two were simply 'just friends' and nothing more.

The two didn't stop there. They proved their 'just friends' status by hanging out and conversing plenty of times during the day, showing comfort they had around each other. Ally would sometimes switch with Dez, leaving him at the diner and her going with Austin to run errands instead. Trish definitely thought this was a bit too much for 'just friends' yet Dez was convinced that even though Austin and Ally were proving a point, it seemed normal enough for at least on his part to stop interrogating Austin about Ally. But that didn't stop Trish. She wanted to know the truth. And if her best friend wouldn't crack, then she'd go directly to the source – Austin.

"So, Austin," Trish said one day when for once Ally and Dez did errands, only because Trish forced him to give her alone time with Austin to talk.

"What's up, Trish?" Austin asked as the two were cleaning up tables after a mid-afternoon lunch rush.

"Nothing much, what about you? Anything new with you?"

"Mmm. Nope. I don't think so, just the same old Austin Moon," he nonchalantly shrugged.

"Really? Nothing different? Nothing feels different?"

"What?"

"You know, like… feelings?" she lingered for a moment. Then Austin caught on.

"Nice try, Trish. There's nothing going on," he chuckled.

"Really? Because no two people are 'just friends' and super close like you and Ally," she interrogated.

"Why are you just interrogating me and not little Ms. Dawson herself?" he tried to take the pressure away from himself.

"Oh honey I've tried. Ally is a tough shell to crack, and I can never tell what's up with her. Not to mention we haven't talked in two years so I'm re-familiarizing myself with her."

"And what makes you think I'm easier than she is?"

"You're a boy. Boys are weak. And you haven't felt my Trish wrath yet, so it's easier to scar a fresh mind," she evilly grinned.

"Ok, now I'm a bit scared," he joked.

"Listen, Austin. I'm not here to be your enemy. Now, we can make this easy or hard. You can decide. I just want to know what your intentions are with my friend."

"My intentions are to rekindle our friendship," he told her.

"Are you sure about that?" she quipped an eyebrow.

"Yes, of course."

"You two just seem awfully close."

"Because we've known each other since we were kids."

"But you lost contact for ten years."

"Yeah, and?"

"How would you just be able to pick up where you left off?"

"You and Dez didn't talk to her for two years. I could ask you the same thing."

"Two years, Austin. You can change a lot in High school, but we're somewhat the same age-wise. You started off as kids. Now you're adults. Two different stages in your lives. You can't just re-connect that fast."

"Ok… well what difference does it make? Some people can just click faster than others."

"Sure sounds a lot like relationship stuff to me," Trish smirked.

"No, it's not. It's just two friends. Two really good friends enjoying each other's company."

"So you're saying that you have no feelings for Ally whatsoever?" she inquired.

"Other than friendship?" he asked.

"Right. So you don't even feel like you could ever like her romantically?"

"Hey now I didn't say that," he said.

"So what _are_ you saying?"

I'm not saying I like her like that or not. I'm just saying as of right now, I only see Ally as a friend."

"So, there might be a chance?" Trish smirked.

"No, well yeah, but no. Ally and I are _just_ friends, Trish."

"Ok, fine. I'm just saying. Ally didn't really have the best relationship with Ethan. And compared to him, you're way better for her. Actually, even if I don't compare you to Ethan, you really are a perfect match for Alls."

"It's because I told you, Ally and I go way back. We're just really good friends. Like how she is with you and Dez. Now you're telling me that it's not the same with Dez because he's a dude too."

Ok fine, you're right. Maybe you and Ally are just that close. Sorry for imposing anything, Austin," Trish smiled.

"It's no problem Trish," he chuckled.

Trish continued to wipe the counter with Austin in silence. But his mind was far from silent. Questions were soaring a mile a minute through his head about his actual feelings for Ally. Did he really have feelings for her? Or was it just platonic?

Once Ally and Dez got back, Trish became the bearer of bad news to her partner in crime, informing Dez that Austin only saw Ally as a friend. Dez, this time wasn't so convinced, so he took matters to his own hands. Trish and Dez were in the diner, currently cleaning mud off of his face, while Ally was outside at the truck with Austin, explaining the whole incident.

"Wait, he did what?"

"He jumped into the pig pen chasing down one of the pigs because it took his apple. Dez was hungry, but didn't realize of course how slippery the mud was. Got muddier than the pig, and I think the pig was snorting and laughing at him. He never got his apple back too," Ally laughed.

"And that doesn't surprise you?"

"Surprise me? When we were thirteen, he asked Jessica Smith to the school dance by covering himself in honey. Jessica said she only dates sweet guys and Dez took it literally. Unfortunately, it was a hot day and well, he got chased and stung by a swarm of bees. Dez is full of surprises that it's in his nature to be uncanny," she giggled.

"Wow. Dez did all that? I'm impressed," Austin nodded.

"Did someone say my name?" Dez jumped in out of nowhere.

Austin jumped but Ally stayed put.

"Yeah, not scared when he does that either," she chuckled at Austin. Ally walked to the back inside to help Trish in the kitchen, leaving the guys at the truck.

"Hey Dez, heard you took a nice mud bath," Austin laughed.

"Laugh all you want, buddy. But check out my skin, it's smoother than ever. No wonder why Trish takes mud baths at the spa."

"You go to the spa?" Austin quipped an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't judge. My nails and skin need exfoliating just as much as the next guy," the redhead defended.

"Whatever you say dude," the blonde chuckled.

"Anyways, what are we doing tonight, man?"

"Let's see. We can go to the mall. We haven't been to the arcade since your first day here."

"Sweet, there's that Zalien game you didn't want to play and I want to show Trish. Hey man, see if Dallas and Cassidy are free too. We can always use more Zalien brain surges."

"Whatever you say, Dez," Austin chuckled at his weirdness. It was a coincidence that his phone beeped at that very moment too.

"Wow that was fast. You didn't even whip your phone out and you got a reply." Then Dez gasped. "Maybe Dallas got my message telepathically like Zaliens do!"

"Chill Dez, it's not even Dallas that called." Austin checked his phone.

"Then who was it?"

"Missed a call. I don't recognize the number. Hold on."

Austin redialed the number and waited.

_"Hello?"_

_"Trish?" _Austin recognized the voice.

"Trish?" Dez was confused.

_"Austin?" _Trish answered, just as confused.

"Why did Trish call you?" the redhead wondered.

_"How'd you get my number?" _Austin asked Trish.

_"Oh wow, Austin. This is your number?!" (from a distance) "Ally you're such a liar!"_

_"Ally?" _Austin asked.

"Ally? What's going on?" Dez was confused.

_"Oh My God Trish I'm going to kill you!" _Ally said in the background on Trish's end. Trish struggled to get Ally off her shoulders.

"_Uhuh. Ally left a slip of paper out on the table and I wondered whose phone number it was. She told me it was nobody but I don't think you're a nobody, Austin,"_ she evilly laughed through the phone.

_"Seriously Trish I'm going to kill you! And I didn't like the paper out, you took it from my journal without asking!" _

"Wow is that Ally screaming?" Dez asked Austin.

"You can hear that?" Austin chuckled.

"Yeah, or I can see it through the glass window at the diner," Dez pointed at the girls visibly wrestling each other for Trish's phone.

Austin looked over and waved at Ally, flashing a bright smile at her. Ally finally took hold of Trish's phone after Trish 'gave up' to let her talk to her 'just friend'.

_"Sorry about that,"_ Ally told Austin through the phone.

_"It's not a problem,"_ he smiled.

"And now he's talking to Ally," Dez commented aloud.

Austin shot him a 'how did you know?' look, since Dez had his back turned from the diner.

_"So listen, since I've got you here. Do you and Trish want to hangout with Dez, Dallas, Cassidy and I at the mall later?"_

_"Sure, Austin, I'd love that," _she grinned.

_"Ok,"_ he returned it. They were both able to see one another's faces from across the lot.

_"Ok," _she repeated.

_"Ok, just hang up now. You can talk to lover boy later!"_ Trish said in the background.

_"I gotta go,"_ Ally said, red with embarrassment.

_"See ya, Ally,"_ and he hung up.

"Uhuh… Just as I thought."

"What?"

"You are so bad at lying, dude," Dez chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Austin acted innocent.

"You had like a permanent idiotic grin on your face the whole time you were talking to Ally. And you say you're just friends," he smirked.

"Shut up Dez, we are," Austin fought back his growing blush.

"Whatever you say, man. Now come on. I want to shoot Zalien guts."

"Ok I'll unload the truck. Go get the girls," he told the impatient teenager.

Suddenly Austin's phone rang again.

"Guess Ally couldn't get enough of you either," Dez winked.

"Shut up, Dez!" Austin said, this time letting his blush show since Dez was running back inside the diner to fetch the girls.

Austin, absentmindedly picking up his phone, didn't expect the person on the other line.

"Kira. Hey."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, so sorry for the late update. I'm never this late in updating. But I'm glad I found time today to update this. I will be busy for the next few days but expect the next chapter within a week for sure. Hope you haven't forgotten about this!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey man, what was up with you last night?" Dez said as he wiped the tables.

"What do you mean, buddy?" Austin asked, wiping the table nearby.

"I don't know, you seemed… distant," the redhead couldn't explain.

"Distant? How?"

"You weren't really talking, and that one time you and Ally snuck off to the kitchen, you guys didn't really sneak off for so long," he pointed out.

"What makes you think Ally and I sneak off to the kitchen sometimes?" Austin speculated.

"Dude, I may be sucked into the world of Zaliens, but even _I _notice when you two run off for an hour or so in the kitchen. I just don't bring it up," Dez smirked.

"You're weird, Dez," Austin rolled his eyes.

"You know, I'd hoped for a 'Thank You, Dez, for not putting us on blast' instead of a 'you're weird' comment. I get that enough from Trish anyways," Dez feigned hurt.

"There's really nothing to put on blast dude. Ally and I aren't as crazy fans of Zaliens as the four of you, so once in a while we need to take a breather in the kitchen while you guys watch brain surges every 5 minutes," he said before sitting on the now clean table he wiped off.

"Whatever you say, man," Dez said sitting next to him. He grabbed his camera bag from the counter behind him, took out his toy and started fidgeting with his video camera's settings.

"What are you doing with a video camera, man?" Austin wondered.

"Well remember how we were sent here because we were punished?"

"Yeah."

"Our principal was kind enough not to suspend or damage our permanent records if in return we did a summer project for him," Dez explained.

"Like what?"

"Anything really. He was pretty vague. All he said was 'share what you learned'."

"That really is general. What are you going to do?"

"Well the girls and I talked the other day and decided to combine our project into one. He never said we couldn't do that and so long as we all contribute, I don't see anything wrong with that, right?" Dez finally got the camera settings he wanted right. He started pointing it around the room to check with the natural lighting.

"Makes sense," Austin nodded. "What's the video going to be about?"

"Most likely this trip. Not exactly sure what, but we're going to talk about our 'punishment' and I don't know about the girls, but I'm going to talk about our friendship."

"Well, they're girls, they'll most likely be talking about it too," Austin chuckled.

"That's so true though. Like seriously, when the three of us hangout before bed, Trish and Ally go on and on talking about everything, dude. It's so grueling," Dez rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah? What do they talk about?" Austin grew curious.

"If you're wondering if little miss Ally Dawson has spoken about you, Mr. Moon, well that's something I cannot share with you," Dez pretended to zip his mouth shut.

"So she's talked about me before?" Austin sat up straighter.

"I never said that," Dez pointed the camera at Austin.

"So she hasn't? Dez, don't record."

"I never said that either. And I'm not." _Lies_.

"What? Dez, you're confusing me," Austin scratched the back of his head.

"You wouldn't be confused if you weren't so interested," the redhead chuckled. "_Are_ you interested?" he said zooming in on Austin.

"N-no. I was just wondering," Austin played it cool.

"Sure you were," Dez winked. "Oh well. Then I guess you don't want to know that one night Ally was wondering out loud if you wanted to hangout with her."

"She said that?" Austin's eyes lit up.

"Well I don't exactly know word for word what she said because Trish was interrogating her and Ally was being coy, but something about hanging out with you and then Ally got all shy about it and didn't want to say anything."

"Oh," Austin semi-smiled.

"_Oh_?" Dez smiled wider. "What does this '_oh'_ mean?"

"Nothing, man. Nothing," Austin was close to blushing.

"Uh-huh," Dez suspiciously answered.

Ally and Trish came from the kitchen carrying freshly brewed pots of coffee to set up over on the side counter of the diner.

"Hey Austin. Hey Dez," Ally greeted them.

"Sup."

"Hey Ally," Austin said a bit too eagerly.

Dez _and_ Trish noticed, while Ally was a bit too oblivious to know.

"Dez, come help me refill the sugar packets," Trish instructed her tall redheaded friend.

"Do I have to?" Dez whined.

"Fine, take a video of me taking sugar packet shots before I throw up," Trish said.

"Yes!" Dez cheered and ran to the other side of the room with Trish.

Austin walked over to Ally once the two were alone.

"You've got some pretty weird friends there, Ally," he chuckled.

"Tell me about it," she giggled.

"Sugar shots?" he asked for an explanation.

"Dez gets tormented by Trish on a daily basis. But Trish never backs down on a dare. One time Dez told her to take 20 sugar shots and she threw up. He really liked it and Trish liked getting that little buzz before hurling so she doesn't mind doing it sometimes."

"Wow," Austin laughed.

"That's Trish and Dez for you," she shamelessly shook her head, somewhat proud of her weird friends.

"So… Miss Aaaally, how has your stay in little ol' Dawson, Minnesota been?"

"It's been pretty darn good, Mister Moon," she giggled, playing along. "But you should know, I've spent a good amount with you."

"Oh really?" he exaggerated a surprised expression.

"Yes, you're consuming too much of my time," she stuck her tongue out.

"But not all your time?" he wondered.

"You gotta give me some space, Austin," she coyly said.

"What if I don't want to?" he smirked.

"Well that's gonna be a problem now, isn't it?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Admit it Ally, you want me," he said stepping closer to her.

"You are just so full of yourself," she smirked and pushed him away.

"So that's a no?" he asked, his arms raised.

"No," she started walking away.

"So that's a yes?" he pointed in the air as if he figured out an equation.

"You'll never know," she winked and walked outside of the diner to change the sign to open, opening the door and setting up the welcome sign outside.

"Did you get all that?" Trish asked Dez from behind the kitchen swinging door.

"Got it." His camera beeped.

"Now go talk some sense into lover boy. NOW!" she urged.

"What? How?" he stumbled.

"I don't know, Dez. Do something! Anything!" Trish pushed him.

"I'm on it!. Here, record it. And don't break my camera," he handed over his toy to the Latina.

"Just go you doof!" she gave him one last push.

Dez clumsily stepped towards Austin once Ally left.

"Hey there, lover boy," Dez said coolly.

"Dez, I have no idea what you're talking about," Austin failed at playing it smooth.

"Oh Austin, so blind. So stupid," Dez fake chuckled and fake held a cigar between his two fingers.

"Whaaaa?" Austin was confused.

Dez pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Dude seriously, whether you care to admit it or not, I'm going to help you out. Ally was flirting with you. Go. Ask her out on a date or just to hangout, but just do it for the sake of everyone here!"

It took a few seconds for Austin to register what the redhead said.

"Right. Ok!" Austin got up and walked away.

Dez turned to Trish and flashed a thumbs up, asking if he was good.

"Yeah, real smooth dummy!" Trish said stepping outside of the kitchen and handing the camera back to Dez.

"But he's gonna ask her out! This is going to be epic!"

"Austin would make a better boyfriend than Ethan."

"Uhoh," Dez realized something.

"What?"

"Doesn't Austin have… a girlfriend?"

Austin hastily strutted outside to where Ally was currently writing on the message board the specials of the day.

"Um, hey Ally," Austin said shyly.

"Hey, Austin," she smiled. "Help me decorate this board." She handed him some sidewalk chalk and he started bolding the specials for Ally while she made flowers along the border.

"So, um, Ally-"

"Do you like my flower?" she pointed at the daisy she drew at the corner.

"Yeah, it's cool. Um-"

"I wanted to draw the attention to the coffee cake so I drew the yellow flower right next to it," she explained. "Clever, right?"

"Uhuh," Austin wasn't really interested. He was rather nervous with what he wanted to ask her. "Uhh-"

"Hey, can you make the 'potato soup' more bold? I want people to read it like it's something desirable," she asked him. "It's really good too."

"Ok," he said. He bolded the soup of the day, feeling defeated she was interrupting him. He was wondering why she kept interrupting him. Did she not want to hangout with him? Was Dez lying and she wasn't flirting? _No_, Austin thought. _I don't know. Oh God. What now?_

Austin decided to just take a shot anyways, if she didn't want to then she didn't have to. But, he would never know unless he asked.

"Hey, Ally. Does this special look appealing now?" he asked.

Ally glanced over to what was supposed to say 'Potato Soup', but instead now read 'Dinner tonight?'. She did a double take, then smiled.

"I think you're missing a price," she coyly replied writing something right next to it. Ally wrote '7 PM'.

Austin beamed with enthusiasm. She smirked at him and walked back inside.

"Change that back to potato soup!" she hollered.

Ally walked confidently back to the kitchen where Trish was transferring freshly baked cookies to a tray.

"Someone's all loopy faced," Trish joked.

"Oh hush, Trish," Ally said, not caring and not going to let her friend bring her down from her high.

"What was going on with you and Austin outside, weirdo?"

"Oh, he just asked to hangout tonight. No big," Ally said non-chalantly.

"Oh Ally. You are a horrible liar. Look at you, you're glowing!"

"Well I'm kind of excited to be honest," Ally couldn't stop smiling. She hummed her way into the kitchen.

"Hey Alls," Trish said, worried.

"Yeah?" her friend turned around, grinning from cheek to cheek. Trish was going to remind Ally about Austin's… status, but she couldn't help but to feel happy for her best friend.

"Let me help you pick out what you're going to wear tonight. Lisa's giving us the afternoon off. Why don't we go shopping?" she suggested.

"Oh that's a great idea!" Ally said, going back to humming.

Dez stepped outside after Austin was left alone.

"Uhuh, just friends?" he said eyeing the sign.

"Come on man, we're just hanging out. This isn't a date," Austin said while he erased the board.

"Right, because you have a girlfriend," Dez reminded him. Austin turned white as a ghost. He was stone cold frozen. How could he forget.

"Right. My girlfriend."

Ally was too excited for her hangout with Austin that night. Even though she assured everyone it wasn't a date, deep down, she truly hoped it was. As promised, Lisa gave the girls the afternoon off. Ally told Trish she needed to run a quick errand before going to the mall and that she'd meet her at the house. Ally in truth had no errand to run. She simply wanted to say hi to the blonde. She was so besotted by him, she didn't care that she looked a little desperate or clingy seeing him before that night. She called her uncle George and he told her Austin's delivery route that day.

"If he's delivering near the strip, he usually stops for a lunch break at this café on Deep Dell Rd," uncle George informed her.

"Got it. Thanks uncle George!"

"And why do you need to find Austin this moment?"

"B-because he said he might need some help with deliveries faster," she thought on her feet.

"Huh, he never mentioned-"

"Well look at the time uncle George. Gotta go. Bye!" she hung up before he could ask any more questions.

Ally went according to the route George told her. She checked her clock and it was a half past noon. She figured to go to that Café because it was lunchtime anyways. George was right. Austin's truck was parked right outside of the café.

Ally parked a few spots next to it and stepped out of her truck. She checked herself in the side view mirror and made her way towards the door. Smiling and skipping, she immediately noticed Austin through the glass window, sitting at a booth. And to think her smile couldn't get any wider when she saw him, it certainly did. He was sipping on some coffee, she was completely smitten by his presence despite that she hadn't stepped inside just yet. Though she was stopped anyways because then she noticed he wasn't alone. No. He was sitting with someone else at the booth. It was a woman. Too soon, Ally's smile became a blank expression, then a frown. He reached over and held the woman's hand. Ally took a step closer to the window. She managed to see more than just the woman's silhouette. She was gorgeous. What really crushed Ally was the way Austin looked at the girl. He was so serious, staring at her like he was deep in thought. A way he's never looked at Ally before. But Ally was scared to even think how much he felt for her. What sent her away was the fact that the two stood up and she came over to give Austin a warm embrace. That was definitely not like anything she and Austin did. She didn't even want to wait to see the hug break. Ally forgot why she was there in the first place. She turned her heels and marched back to the truck. Pulling out of the parking lot, she didn't dare to check her rear view mirror or look back. Ally just drove away.

She kept driving; Not really knowing where she was going. She didn't want to go to the mall. Nor did she want to go home and be alone. She wasn't in the mood to surround herself with anything that reminded her of Austin so the tree spot was out of the question. Ally was too preoccupied to really focus on anything that she ended up shifting incorrectly and stalling at the side of the road. Although Austin did teach her what to do when she stalled, Ally decided to just kill the ignition and sit there. She really did not know what to do. She buried her face on the steering wheel.

About 10 minutes later, another truck drove by.

"Wait, hey we know that truck. Go back!"

The truck reversed and stopped next to Ally's dormant truck.

"Ally?"

She looked up. "Cassidy? Dallas?"

"Is everything alright?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeah are you ok?" Dallas added.

"Uh yeah. I'm just kind of having one of those days. And on top of that the truck stalled," Ally said.

"Didn't Austin teach you what to do?" Dallas wondered.

"Yeah, he did. But I guess I just wanted to stall too. Have some alone time."

"Oh, well do you want us to leave you? We could just go," Cassidy felt like they intruded.

"No, that's nonsense. I don't really want to be alone. What are you guys doing?"

"Just came from the mall. We were just going to hangout at my place."

"Yeah nothing special," Cassidy said nonchalantly.

"Hey!" Dallas cried.

"Just kidding," she joked. "Come on, Ally. Join us."

"No, I think I'll just go home and nap so I'll have some energy to maybe hang out tonight."

"You tired? You want one of us to drive your truck to your place?" Cassidy offered.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I'm really light headed. Is that ok?"

"Sure. Dallas, go drive Ally's truck. I'll follow you to George and Lisa's place."

Dallas hopped out of his truck and walked over to Ally's. She scooted over so he could sit in the drivers seat.

After about a minute or two, Dallas decided to strike up a conversation.

"So Ally. You feeling dehydrated or something? Nauseous?"

"No, just tired I guess."

"Something wrong?" he noticed she was being passive.

"I don't know actually. I don't think so."

"Well that's a clear answer," he chuckled.

"Sorry," she chuckled back. "I'm just so out of it today. I really need sleep."

"Haven't been able to sleep in this Minnesota weather?" he guessed. It was pretty sticky.

"Something like that," she said. "Just been wasting time staring at the sky I guess."

"Well I don't want you to be wasting your time on your vacation," he told her.

"Not exactly a vacation destination. No offense."

"None taken," he chuckled. "Why are you here anyways?"

"Punishment."

"No," he laughed. "I mean, what are you doing here? You obviously were sent here by your father's orders, but even Lisa can't tell you what to do. You could've switched flights or something for the summer."

"I could have. But I guess I needed some time to figure things out, you know? My boyfriend cheated on me. I haven't talked to Trish and Dez in years. And I'm going off to college in the fall. It's a lot to take in."

"Damn Ally. You really need a break," Dallas said. "How about I take you out?"

"Sure, where do you want to hangout? Arcade? Mall?"

"No, I mean like just you and me."

Oh. You mean like a uh… like-"

"A date? Yeah, Ally, I mean like a date," he chuckled. "Just a friendly date between a guy and a girl. Nothing more if you don't want anything out of it. Besides, you're not with your boyfriend and more. I don't have a girlfriend. Unless you've got a secret lover, why not?" he posed.

She thought for a moment. They pulled up to her aunt's house and he killed the ignition.

"You know what, you're right. Why not. Sure Dallas, I'd love to go on a date," she told him.

"Fantastic," he smiled brightly at her, his eyes twinkling. "How's tonight?"

"Tonight?" she thought. Until an hour ago she was so excited to be on a 'not date' with a certain boy. But Ally figured that wasn't the case any more.

"Unless you've made other plans?" Dallas wondered why she didn't respond right away.

Ally took a deep breath and shook her head.

"No plans. Pick me up at 7?"

"Sure thing little Miss," he tipped his hat and winked. "See you tonight."

* * *

"You're what?!"

"Calm down Trish. It's just a date. Not like I've never been on one before," Ally said as she was getting ready that night.

"Yeah, but with Dallas?"

"So? Dallas is pretty cute. And he's a nice guy. You should know, the four of you hang out way more."

"Yeah, which is why it was a complete curveball that you and Dallas were having a thing."

"Who said anything about having a thing? We're just two people enjoying a night out together, that's all."

"So you're not interested?"

"I don't know maybe? Who knows. He asked. I answered. Now we're going out tonight."

"But what about Austin?"

"What about Austin? Trish, get it through your head, Austin and I are just friends."

"I could have sworn-" she muttered under her breath but stopped mid sentence. "Wait, I thought Austin asked you out tonight."

"Did he? I must have forgot."

"Forgot? Woman you were humming all morning in the kitchen! It was so annoying."

"Then I'll stop humming," Ally chuckled while putting on her earrings.

Trish still wasn't convinced.

"Okay Alls, what's up? What's really going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Ally turned to face her friend.

"As much as you won't care to admit it, You and Austin are more than 'just friends'. And now all of a sudden you have an interest in Dallas?"

"Just because I'm going out with Dallas doesn't mean I'm interested in him. Like I said, he told me he wanted to take me out after I pathetically vented my feelings to him. He's being a good friend, something you should be right now."

"Okay fine, Alls. Just hope you know what you're doing."

"I do know what I'm doing. Relax, girl."

"And what are you going to tell Austin when he expects to hangout with you tonight?"

"Well I just have to tell him I made other plans. I'm sure he already has other plans too," she mumbled that last part to herself.

"But what if he doesn't?"

"I'm sure Dez isn't doing anything tonight," Ally said. Then she checked her phone. "Oh! It's almost 7. Come on!"

She dragged her friend down the stairs towards the front door. After she told her aunt and uncle she was leaving, the ladies met Dez at the front porch. He was currently filming random things around him. He heard the door open and turned his camera to it.

"Oh hey g- whoa! Ally! Are you going on a date or something?" Dez exclaimed at how well she dolled up for that night.

"As a matter of fact I am," she told him confidently.

Dez was about to ask her something when Trish shut his camera closed.

"She's ditching Austin to go on a date with Dallas," she angrily whispered in Dez's ear.

"Dallas? Whoa! Plot twist!" he excitedly whispered.

"No, we're on team Austin you doof!" she flicked his head.

In the middle of their bickering, a truck pulled up.

He stepped out and walked toward the three friends.

"Hey guys," he said.

Trish and Dez didn't know what to say.

"Hello, Austin," Ally confidently answered.

"Ally, wow you look really nice tonight. I feel so underdressed," Austin said.

"Actually, about tonight," she stepped forward, past him. "I forgot to tell you, I have a date."

"Forgot to tell me? Wait, you're going on a date tonight?" he was confused.

"Yeah, well. I'm not the only one who forgets to tell people things," she sarcastically remarked.

"Huh?" he was so lost.

Just then, another truck pulled up. The person inside that truck stepped outside and met the four.

"Hey everyone. Wow Ally you're so gorgeous!" Dallas gave her a once over.

"Thanks, Dallas," she smiled.

"Ready to go?"

"You bet," she said.

"Sorry to take away your pretty friend here you guys but she and I have a date tonight."

"Dallas," Austin said.

"Sup Austin! Talk to you later man," Dallas waved.

Dallas was a true gentleman, offering his arm and escorting Ally to his truck. He opened and closed her door and the two drove off.

All the while the three friends stood at the porch, dumbfounded.

"What just happened?" Austin asked.

"Don't ask me, Ally is so confusing," Trish shook her head.

"So, you guys wanna hangout tonight?" Dez brought up as if nothing strange happened. "Hey, since Dallas is with Ally, we should invite Cassidy to hang so she's not alone either!" he suggested.

Immediately, Austin snapped out of his shock.

"That's not a bad idea, Dez." Then he smirked. "Actually, that's a fantastic idea."

There was something about his eyes that meant he was up to something. Trish and Dez could sense it.

Austin took out his phone and dialed her number.

"Cassidy. Hey! You busy tonight? Let's hangout."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I'm working on some stuff for my other fics. Plus, school is starting up and although I'm not a student anymore, I do teach and coach so I'm on the other side of the desk. Will update when I can!**


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